Miraculous Pirates 2!
by blackmailingqueen
Summary: With the introduction to the rest of the Miraculous Fleet, our favorite pirate captain and her trusty first mates are going to find a great many things have changed since they left their crew...
1. A New Day

Miraculous Pirates 2! It's here! Well the first chapter is at least.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

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A bright sun slowly rose over the ocean and lightened upon a beach with seven figures lying still on its sandy shores. The morning sun warmed them, and the seawater and sand slowly dried onto their bodies. It took many hours on the quickly warming sand before the first of them even began to stir.

The first to awaken was without question the smallest of the entire group. Her pink hair was cut short and jagged, but the wet sand and seawater had matted the normally wild locks down and turned it several shades darker.

For a good while longer, it seemed that even the process of sitting up eluded her. As she laid there staring at the sky, the more she felt a deep sense of despair and just wanted to fall back into the bliss that was unconsciousness.

But with the despair and desire to return to the black, a steely determination also began to grow. A determination to beat whatever it was that was holding her in this fog.

With a groan, Alix began the herculean effort of sitting up without tossing whatever it was that she had last eaten. Finally managing it, she squinted against the sun to get a glimpse of her surroundings.

Though her eyesight was still slightly cloudy but, from what she could see, the beach they were on was beautiful. Grimacing, Alix fell back to the sand and stared up at the sky. Only one question on her mind, "Where are we?"

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I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Also anyone else notice what day it is?

Comment what you thought

See ya next time!


	2. The Fleet Expands

So I'm going to be trying something a little different this chapter. This chapter is going to be very dialogue heavy. Like, mostly talking. I'll try not to make it too info-dumpy. Sorry.

Also, I am just going to apologize now for how one of the characters is going to act. I've been seeing a lot of Undertale recently, and they, apparently, reminded me a lot of Mettaton... with a little bit of Papyrus mixed in for good measure.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

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Alix's eyes were just beginning to adjust to the light of the sun when a shadow fell across her face and completely blocked the sun. At that moment she was still pretty out of it, so the first thing that ran across her mind was a mild annoyance, instead of fear at the sudden appearance of a mysterious figure. "Who are you?"

"I! Am the most fabulous member of the Miraculous fleet! Duusuu!" The woman was lavishly dressed in various shades of blue and red. But her clothes did have the unmistakable look of peafowl. That didn't make her story any more believable though.

"Uh-huh. And I'm a time traveler from the distant future here to warn everyone of their eminent deaths!"

"No need to be ridiculous, Alix." And suddenly, this strange woman being some kind of human boat thing didn't seem so far fetched.

"H-how did you know my name?!"

"I told you, I am one-seventh of the miraculous fleet! It's important that I know about what kind of captain I'll have."

"But that's impossible! You're all boats!"

"Alix, you and I both know this isn't even in the top ten weirdest things you've been a part of."

"... I will not dignify that with a response."

Which seemed to satisfy Duusuu, as she completely ignored that little branch off of their conversation, "So, now that we have that little dispute settled. Any questions?"

Taking a deep breath, Alix fired off all the questions she could think of off the top of her head, "Where am I? How are you a human and not a boat? Where are my friends? Are all of the miraculous fleet human/boat magical whatevers? How do you know so much about me? Are all boats able to change into humans? And can you help me sit up?"

Duusuu actually took half a step back in surprise. "...You're... inquisitive all of a sudden."

"Hey, you asked."

With a small sigh, the elegantly dressed woman sat next to her collapsed captain. And began answering her questions.

"I mean technically, you, and by extension, the others, are on this beach where time doesn't work quite the same way, looking like you just fought the grim reaper. And then got your hair dunked into a can of pink."

"Haha. Think of that yourself, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"I am going to have to teach you sarcasm." Alix muttered to herself.

"As for the others, they're probably somewhere along the beach here, having a similar conversation."

"So that's a yes on the other ships being like... whatever the hell it is you are?"

"Well, there's no need to be rude. Honestly, if I knew you were going to be mean I wouldn't have shown up."

"Says the magic boat turned human to the half-drowned pirate, as they refuse to help me sit up."

"Oo. You're feisty. I like it!"

"If you like it, then you should help me up!"

"But you're so adorable like this!"

Alix groaned in exasperation while Duusuu laughed. Once she stopped the two fell into a comfortable silence. Finally, Alix broke the silence.

"So your Duusuu?"

"And you are my teeny tiny little captain!"

"...Don't call me that." Though she said she didn't like it, Duusuu could see the faint blush on the girl's pale cheeks.

"But you're so cute!"

"If I could sit up on my own, I would strangle you."

"I love you too!"

Their laughter rang out over the beach.

Meanwhile, Marinette was having a very different conversation with Tikki.

* * *

So I wrote this at like midnight. And I mostly wrote the dialogue first and added everything thing else after.

But I honestly enjoyed the way it came out so oh well!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	3. A Purrfect Introduction

So someone asked what my semi-regular update schedule was and I am going to very tentatively say I'll try and update every Wednesday/Thursday -ish time frame I can't guarantee that, but I would like to try.

Anyway! I.O.N.

Enjoy!

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The blond duo woke up laying in a small grove of trees. Chloe was startled awake by a loud sound coming from her right. Her eyes shot open and she was in a half-crouch, reaching for a weapon before she was even aware of what was going on. Or the waves of dizziness hit and she fell again.

As it turned out the reason Adrien had screamed was because a tall man, that strangely resembled a black cat, was standing over him laughing.

With a nervous glance over at her friend who was either trying to glare at the smirking man, or keep himself from laughing too, "Adrien what's going on?!"

Unfortunately, it was the man who answered, "Well, _**sweet**_ heart you've landed on our beach and your frie-Hey!" Before he could finish, a girl appeared beside him and elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't listen to him, or his stupid puns. We aren't going to hurt you." The girl was smiling sweetly, but something still felt off.

"Who are you people!?" Adrien asked in an attempt to get their attention.

It looked like the man was going to answer but the other stranger muffled his voice with her hand, "Mphf!" Then suddenly she reeled back and cradled her hand to her chest and glared at her friend.

"Ow! Plagg! You bit me!"

"You asked for it _**Queenie**_." The man, named Plagg apparently, said. But this time his tone seemed more malicious than when he was laughing at Adrien.

Finally, Chloe had had enough, "NOW HOLD UP!"

Plagg lazily glared over at her, "What?"

It was at that moment that the girl in yellow and black noticed a more than slightly annoyed Chloe lying on the ground. "Oh! I am so sorry my captain! Let me help you up!" The girl was getting closer but the blonde pirate shook off the attempted help.

"If you really want to help, tell us who you are!"

Blushing lightly in embarrassment, and slightly cowed the girl said, "Of course, my captain, apologies. I am Pollen. And this," She continued sending an annoyed huff towards the cat man, "Is Plagg. We are members of the Miraculous Fleet."

The moment the words left her mouth, it seemed Adrien could no longer contain himself and blurted out "That im _ **paw**_ sible! Completely un _ **brie**_ lievable!" Everything seemed to freeze.

Then Plagg said, "I like this kid, he's got the right -"

"Don't you dare say it Plagg!"

" _ **Cat**_ titude!"

Both girls groaned, but the boys were having too much fun, "I don't think they _**Purr**_ ticularly enjoy our puns!"

"Un _ **bee**_ lievable!"

"I'm in _ **salt**_ ed!"

Chloe was seriously beginning to consider burying her head in the sand to avoid the puns.

Plagg shared a look with Adrien and said, "You know what I think kid?"

"What?"

"I think may _ **bee**_ we should keep going until they under _ **sand**_ the absolutely _**pun**_ derfully a _ **meow**_ sing power that is puns!"

"That's a _**purr**_ fect idea."

By that point, Chloe and Pollen were just trying to block out the cackling that was going on beside them. It took a while, but they were able to ignore it all long enough, for Pollen to explain the whole situation.

On another stretch of beach Alya, Kim, and Nino were finally waking up.

Marinette smiled as she finished another braid in Tikki's hair.

* * *

So this is a thing I did. I think I spent more time trying to think of puns than anything else...

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	4. You can't be serious

Sorry, I didn't update last week, I was just lacking inspiration I guess.

But I'm back this week!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

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Marinette woke up slowly, her senses gradually returning. The sand sticking to her arms and legs, a gentle breeze blowing across the beach, the smell of sea salt in the air, the sound of waves crashing on the shore and someone gently humming an unfamiliar song under their breath. Then, the sunlight slowly turning the inside of her eyelids red and warming her skin.

When Marinette finally opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was how brilliant a blue the sky was. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Sitting up did prove to be a challenge, but when the person humming noticed her movement, it became significantly less of a problem.

"Here. Let me help you up."

"Thanks, Tikki."

The two of them sat for a while, Tikki helping Marinette clean the sand out of her hair, and even braided her hair. They just relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the other's company. As the sun grew higher in the sky the captain sighed as she turned to Tikki. "So I guess we have to talk about it sometime."

"Talk about what?"

Marinette pushed herself up and began pacing, firing off questions as she went, "Where are we? What happened? How did we get here? Where is everyone else?! Why are you, well, human?! How long was I out? Tikki we have a lot to talk about!" Her panic, which had been put on the back burner, started to grow with every question she asked.

"I guess we do." With a sigh, Tikki asked, "What's first?"

"Where is everyone else?"

"They're somewhere along the beach. But they are safe. In fact, everyone should be awake by now and with the others!"

"Others?"

"Yeah! The other members of the Miraculous Fleet!"

"I guess that answers the 'where are we' portion of my questions. So why are you human?"

"Whenever I, or any of the others, are on this island, we are able to take a human form, so as to talk to our captains about things that may or may not need to be changed."

"Okay then. What happened?"

"...That one is... a little harder to answer..."

"Tikki I need to know."

Abruptly, Tikki stood and went to stand next to Marinette, "If you really want to know, then we can't talk here."

"Where can we talk then!?"

A mischievous smile found its' way onto the living ship's face. "Up there." Marinette turned around and saw the largest mountain she had ever laid eyes on.

"So the base of that mountain?" She asked hopefully.

"Nope. The very top!" Tikki replied brightly. "Let's go!"

"You have got to be kidding."

But the chipper girl was not kidding, as Marinette soon learned when Tikki started walking further inland, and into what appeared to be a very dense forest. At that point, the disoriented captain had no choice but to follow, or risk being left alone on a strange beach. There was very little talking. Whether that was from the strain of hiking up the mountain or the lack of answers a specific person was giving, really depended on who you asked. Tikki did, however, insist that they take frequent breaks so that her companion didn't exhaust herself.

Just as the sun was going down, and Marinette was certain they would have to stop for the night, they came upon a flat clearing with chairs, torches, and a fire pit that had a low fire burning. For the first time since the two had met, Marinettruly saw a truly radiant smile grace Tikki's face, as they took in the clearing.

"It's good to be home."

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I love it when things happen, don't you?

Hope you enjoyed!

Comment what you thought!

See ya next time!


	5. A Party!

I made it this time! I was able to finish it before Thursday and even before the end of Wednesday!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe trudged through the dense forest next to Pollen who was steadfast in her ignoring of Plagg and Adrien. "Remind me why we are climbing this godforsaken mountain again?" Pollen laughed.

"Because you can't spend the rest of your time here on the beach. It does horrors for the skin."

Plagg chipped in, sensing a chance to have some fun, "Not to mention, up here we have cold water!"

Adrien let out a wistful sigh, "That sounds really nice right about now."

"Will we see any of the others there?" Chloe asked. The barest hint of worry in her voice.

"I **purr** sonally be **leaf** we will!"

"Plagg I swear, if you start that again, I will throw you off the mountain!"

"Oh come on Pollen! **Furr** get about it! **Bee** sides! **Hi've** already started!"

"That's it! You both heard me warn him!" Before bee themed girl could carry out her threat on her friend, six familiar faces appeared through the trees. Unfortunately, one of them decided she wanted to have the same type of fun as Plagg.

"Well, doesn't this look like a **paws** itively a **mew** sing party!"

Pollen snapped.

" **BUZZ OFF** TRIXX!"

The entire clearing froze. Everyone was in shock. Plagg looked like his birthday had come early, and Pollen looked like she was about to faint.

"Did you just -?"

"WE WILL NEVER SPEAK OF THIS!"

"I really think we should ta-"

"I WILL **STING** YOU!"

With that, Plagg, Trixx, and Adrien dissolved into laughter. Nooroo went to comfort his distraught friend. Wayzz was standing towards the back trying not to laugh. Kim, Alya, Nino, and Chloe were just kind of watching the insanity from the sidelines.

Finally when it looked like Pollen could stand by herself without immediately going back to her first pun ever and collapsing again, and Trixx and Plagg finally stopped laughing. Everyone started for the top of the mountain again. This time Pollen was at the very front of the group, and hardly seemed willing to stop for breaks.

But after a couple of hours hiking, she appeared to have calmed down. After that, all it took was a funny look from Trixx to break the ice, and from that point on the older beings began to tell stories about adventures they had been a part of or had heard about from a friend of a friend.

Smiles could be seen on every face and laughter was never in short supply. Eventually, it became obvious that the closer to the top of the mountain they got, the more excited and energetic their mysterious companions became. It grew to such a fever point that even Wayzz, arguably the slowest of everyone, was leaving the pirates in the dust.

About an hour after the sun had set and the moon was just beginning to rise, Adrien, Alya, Chloe, Kim, and Nino were all exhausted and beginning to seriously consider looking for a soft patch of dirt to sleep on. When they all practically ran into the backs of the others, which was surprising in itself, because they had lost track of them a while ago. "Guys is something wrong?" Nino asked.

It was Plagg who broke out of his frozen stupor first. "TIKKI!" He shouted, tears in his voice.

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I had so much fun writing this!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	6. TIKKI!

I still managed to write this out before the time limit! I know at some point me saying that will probably get old if it hasn't already, but it makes me really happy to know that I am capable of working on a deadline, ya know?

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Tikki had just finished settling in for the night, having long since given up on the others making an appearance tonight, when she heard someone shout her name. The next thing she knew, she was swept up into a bone-crushing hug from Plagg.

"Ugh! It's good to see you too Plagg. But I can't breathe!" She patted his back gently, and he let up slightly.

He smiled as he wiped a few stray tears from his eyes, "Sorry Sugar Cube. It's just been so long."

They all joked and laughed together, as Plagg still refused to let go of Tikki, and one by one the six mortals quietly said their goodnights and headed over to the smaller area where Marinette was sleeping.

"You two are ridiculous."

"Why Pollen darling, is that a smile I see?"

"None of your **beeswax** , Duusuu." The ladybug styled girl, let out a bark of shocked laughter.

"I see you've all managed to corrupt Pollen with your tearable puns." She sighed, "At least Nooroo is still unaffected."

Nooroo blushed, "It's good to see you again Tikki."

"Likewise."

The seven immortals continued talking for a while longer, with Pollen still vehemently denying any puns, until Trixx let out a large yawn. Stretching Wyazz said, "I think it's time we all went to bed."

"But this is the first time we've all been together in years!"

"Yes, and if none of us get any sleep, our captains won't have anyone lucid enough to answer their questions."

"Fine... But Tikki's sleeping with us!"

Before Plagg could object, Nooroo and Pollen had snatched Tikki from his arms and were dragging her away. As they left Pollen shot Plagg a smug smile. Trixx snickered at the shocked look on his face, "Awe come on Plagg! It's not like **shell** wake up tomorrow and hate you!"

The tiny pun was enough to make the four of them laugh slightly, and even managed to perk Plagg up a little.

"Even you have to admit Trixx, that was a pretty **pawful** pun."

"Alright, it's time for bed. No more puns."

"Awe Wyazz, you're no **pun**."

"Plagg, two seconds ago you were moping that Tikki wasn't going to sleep next to you tonight."

"Wyazz is right darlings. We need our beauty sleep!"

Duusuu wrapped her arms around Trixx and Plagg's shoulders and began to lead them away. Looking over her shoulder, Duusuu called out to Wyazz, "Aren't you coming darling?"

* * *

I had fun writing this.

Comment what you thought!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	7. A New Time

I have made it! Just before the deadline!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

In the front entrance of a rather extravagant house, a mother was saying goodbye to a pair of teenaged twins, while holding an exhausted four-year-old. "Thanks again for letting us watch her ma'am." one twin said.

"Yeah, Olive is just the sweetest!" Her sister added, making little cooing noises at the sleeping toddler.

"Oh, it was no trouble for me girls! I was able to take a nap for the first time in a while." The mother seemed to hesitate, "Speaking of Olive, her birthday is coming up soon and since her father is still out, we were hoping that all of you could show up?"

Their eyes lit up, as they said, "We would love to! Of course, we'll have to ask Nora, but I'm sure she'll agree to come!"

"That's wonderful! Make sure that Manon knows this goes for her too."

"We will miss Lila!" Ella and Etta chimed as they dashed down the road leading away from the house.

Lila laughed a little as she waved them goodbye. Then she readjusted how she was holding her daughter and went back inside. As she walked towards Olive's room, Lila could hear two maids gossiping. Pausing for a moment she listened in.

"Those girls are just too sweet!"

"I know! But I have to admit, I can hardly ever tell them apart."

"I know what you mean. So was Ella the one in blue and black or was she the one in yellow and white?"

"Your guess is as good as mine!"

Shaking her head good-naturedly, Lila resumed walking.

* * *

The court painter looked over the crowd of townspeople and villagers angrily trying to find his apprentice. Finally, he spotted the young man's bright red hair amongst the almost monotones of browns and blacks. The young man was apparently oblivious to his impending doom as the court painter tore through the crowd, people hurriedly moving to make way for the extremely tall man. "NATHANIEL!" The older man bellowed, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU SINCE SUNRISE!"

Nathaniel bowed his head sheepishly, "I'm terribly sorry Master Demarcus. I woke up early and the sky looked more beautiful today than it usually did, and I-"

Demarcus cut him off abruptly, "Spare me your excuses boy! Because of you, we are late! And Marc is already at the castle!"

"Late? I didn't realize -"

"It is not your job to realize, boy. It is your job to be ready when I tell you to be! Now let us be on our way!" With an angry huff, master and apprentice began the trek to the home of royalty. On their way, Demarcus continued to berate Nathaniel.

But as the walk drew on, Nathaniel's mind began to wander to the beautiful scenery of the surrounding area, and his fingers began to itch with the desire to draw his surroundings and he wished he had kept his charcoal and paper out instead of shoving them into his bag.

Suddenly, Master Demarcus went silent. At first, Nathaniel thought he was going to be berated for getting distracted, again. But then he realized, his master had stopped yelling at him because they had come into hearing range of the castle guards.

Those at the front gate bowed their heads and allowed the two artists to enter, one of them quietly uttering to Demarcus, "His Majesty is waiting for you in the painting room." Demarcus gruffly nodded his head in acknowledgment.

When they arrived in the painting room, Nathaniel saw that Marc was indeed already there and had most of their master's equipment set up. Most of it was different paints which were relatively light, but the large canvases that were already set up were much heavier and usually required two people or more for any ease in maneuvering.

The red-headed young man shot his fellow apprentice an apologetic look as their master prepared the final bits of equipment he didn't trust his students with. King Ali was getting into the position his court painter had suggested when his dear friend Rose ran into the room.

While it was true he had only met her seven years ago. When she had shown up at his doors two years later looking like her world had just come crumbling down, he had immediately welcomed her as his official guest.

Rose frantically looked around the room until her eyes landed on Nathaniel, who was busy smoothing out some of the wrinkles one of his drawings had gotten after being roughly shoved into his sack.

"Is there something we can help you with Rose?" Ali asked.

"Yes! I mean... if it's not too much trouble, could I borrow Nathaniel for a while?" She seemed to think for a moment, "OH! And Max too if he isn't too busy."

"Well, sir Demarcus, can you be persuaded to spare one of your apprentices?"

Demarcus stared at Nathaniel for a moment, while Nathaniel tried to make himself look as innocent as possible, "I really shouldn't, after all the time I spent looking for him." Rose deflated a little, "But, he and Marc won't have anything to do for a few hours yet, so I suppose he can gO?!"

As the painter finished his sentence Rose rushed him for a hug, "Thank you so much !" Then she grabbed the two apprentices and practically ran out of the room with a brief, "Bye Ali!" over her shoulder.

As they rushed through the castle, Marc managed to say that he would like to spend his free time in the garden. So Rose released his wrist from her surprisingly strong grip and said she hoped he was able to draw something wonderful, before taking off again. This time with Nathaniel running beside her.

After some minutes, they were finally able to find Max in the library, with a stack of books taller than himself. "Max!" Rose shouted.

Startled the book worm looked up, "Yes Rose?"

"You've gotta come with us!"

"Where?"

"To the docks!"

"I see. Juleka has returned. Very well. Let us go."

"YAY!"

Despite his frank manner, as the three of them left the castle, Max could be seen running just as fast as his friends. All the guards saw, was three trails of dust leading out of the front gates.

* * *

So believe it or not, this chapter was originally supposed to only have Lila and the twins in it. But that was like two hundred words, so I added the rest of it.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	8. A New Moment

So I've felt bad about that one week I didn't publish a chapter, so have this second chapter as a bonus!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Luka had just finished helping Juleka unload most of the cargo when he saw his little sister get tackle-hugged by a pink blur. "JULEKA!"

Shortly after Nathaniel and Max showed up.

"Well isn't this a happy little reunion?" Luka said, as he gave Rose a side hug and shook hands with the two boys. "How have you all been?"

"I have been doing well. King Ali has taken much of my advice on the taxing rate of importing and exporting." Max said.

"Max, I really hope that means you convinced him to lower those rates?" Luka asked hopefully. The young genius chose not to respond.

"My apprenticeship is exactly what I dreamed and dreaded it would be." Nathaniel added, distracting the two sailors from their death glares at Max.

"That bad?" Juleka asked.

"No, it's just difficult to remind myself that I'm not allowed to draw whatever I please as it strikes me. Every. Single. Day."

"I'm sure it'll get better," Rose said kindly. "It's not like he can keep the two of you apprentices forever."

"True. He'll die... eventually."

At the snide remark, the four former crewmates burst out laughing.

"And how have things been at the Palace, Rose? Anyone there who needs to be terrified by four mythical pirates?" Juleka asked, turning the attention to their blond friend.

"I don't think so. Everyone's been so nice!"

"Of course they have! Who would want to insult someone as nice as you?!"

As Luka decided it was about time he finished unloading, Rose, Nathaniel, and Max all offered to help them finish. But Luka waved them away, saying that the four of them should go out and have some fun. So the four left the docks, and they all decided they wanted to show Juleka their favorite places to spend free time.

But as the morning wore on, and it looked like Nathaniel would need to be getting back, Max gently brought up the subject they'd all been thinking about but had been too nervous to say anything.

"Juleka... has there been any word on the others?"

With a sad sigh, the dark haired girl massaged her neck and said, "No. It's like the seven of them just disappeared. We've looked for any clues or rumors about Tikki or Ladybug, but there's... nothing."

* * *

Sabrina unwillingly awoke from her nap when the sound of church bells continued to sound in her ears. Sitting up, she realized she had let herself fall asleep on the cliff overlooking the ocean, again. Finally, the bells were silenced, and all she could hear once again was the sound of water hitting the sheer face of the cliff below. It was almost soothing enough to send her back into a light doze.

Just as Sabrina had allowed her eyes to close, they shot back open in panic. If the bells had gone quiet, that meant that she was late for church, again. Scrambling to her feet, Sabrina took off running, hoping that the family she was living with wouldn't be too disappointed.

As she ran across the open field, legs pushing her forward, wind sweeping her hair back, Sabrina couldn't help the smile that spread across her freckled cheeks. This was the only time she felt nearly as free on land as she did when she was aboard Tikki.

* * *

Mylene laughed as Ivan was swarmed with children. The gentle giant that was her fiance tended to be popular with the kids that saw their traveling show. All they wanted to do was get piggyback rides and see how many of them he could carry at once. It never failed to make Mylene giggle.

As the sun continued its journey to the west, parents came to collect children. Some would smile and wave goodbye, while others would cry and whine that they wanted to stay. Those were the ones Mylene would sing silly song after silly song to until they laughed, then she would tell them they had to go home and eat a nice warm supper. After that, they would usually smile and nod their heads happily.

Together Ivan and Mylene would watch them leave, smiles on their faces. Finally, as the last family left, the two would turn back to their wagon and prepare for supper themselves. With a sigh, Ivan sat down his plate and turned to Mylene. "Have you ever thought of going back?"

"Back?"

"Yeah, you know back to the ocean, sailing."

Mylene smiled sadly, "I don't think there's been a day I don't think of it."

"What's stopping us?"

"I don't know about you, Ivan, but it just wouldn't feel right without the Captain and the others." Mylene's eyes started to mist over.

Ivan hugged his fiance and did his best to soothe her as the tears started to fall, "It's okay to miss them, ya know. You don't have to hide it."

There the two sat throughout the night, reminiscing about the seven friends they had lost almost six years previously.

* * *

I have nothing to say.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	9. Rose

So, it's been over a month since I last posted. I'm really really sorry. In fact, I'm writing this from my Pit of Shame.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Rose was wandering through the palace on a whim, talking to anyone she happened to pass, be them servant or noble. Her smile never faltering, even as some of the higher up nobles scoffed at her greetings. Even though she had been a guest of the King's for almost six years now, many of them still only thought of her as little more than a nuisance. But they rarely if ever had to interact with her s so it was never really a problem to her.

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Rose resolutely shook her head, banishing the pessimistic thoughts. It was a beautiful day and nothing was going to dampen her mood!

As she wandered, Rose's path began to arch towards the royal gardens, and her pace began to slow even further. Every flower she passed gave her pause, and posture began to relax. And with that relaxation came the inevitable thoughts of how badly the week had turned out.

At first, it had seemed that it would be a normal week. Enjoy the company of Nathaniel and Marc as Master Demarcus worked on Ali's portrait. But then word had reached her of Juleka and Luka being in town, grabbed her redheaded friend and ran for the dock. Their catching up had, inevitably, lead to the disappearance of their captain and most of her family. That was still a sore point for everyone who had been a member of Captain Ladybug's crew. The last time Rose had spoken to Sabrina, the distraught red-head could barely stand hearing Chloe's name without bursting into tears.

Absentmindedly, Rose gingerly felt the petals of her namesake. Still lost in the endless ocean that was her thoughts.

It wasn't until Marc ran into her causing both of them to fall to the ground and scattering various papers that had been in Marc's arms onto the ground that Rose returned to the present. "Oh! Marc! I'm sorry, here let me help you!" She said and began to help her friend recollect the loose paper.

"It's fine, really Rose. I should have been paying more attention. Sorry about that by the way." The dark haired boy said.

Once all the paper had been retrieved, Rose looped her arm through Marc's, "It's fine! No harm done. So if you don't mind my asking, why were you in such a rush?"

Marc's eyes widened as he remembered why he had been hurrying in the first place, "Well Master Demarcus has required a sketch from both me and Nathaniel to see where we are after a year under his training." He explained as he began edging away from Rose. "And he's expecting them to be handed in, in about three minutes, so I've really got to go! Sorry again Rose!" With that, Marc fully turned and began running again.

Laughing, Rose turned in the opposite direction and decided that she wanted to do a little exploring of the forest. So with a new idea in mind for the rest of the day, Rose walked out of the gardens and headed for the servants' entrance, only stopping at her room to grab a bottle of perfume of her own creation, and a small dagger Juleka had given her some years previous. Once at the servant's entrance, she waved at anyone she recognized and the lone guard smiled as she headed out.

"Be careful out there Miss Rose. We've been getting reports of increased bandit attacks lately." He called out as she passed.

Rose smiled and said, "Thank you, James, I'll be sure to be careful." With one final wave, Rose followed the path that many had walked before and would walk after until she was out of sight of the castle. Then she confidently stepped off the well-beaten path and into the calming trees of the forest.

Taking her time, she wound her way through shrubbery, grasses, and trees until she finally came upon a giant tree growing right before the start of a steep cliff. Unfortunately, Rose's happy and peaceful moment was ruined by the group of five or six bandits plotting.

Forcing an overly friendly smile onto her face, Rose made her presence known.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

* * *

So you guys probably want an explanation, and I _**really**_ wish I had one to give. But honestly, for some reason, I just didn't have any inspiration. And for some reason school was just feeling overwhelming, and I had to help set up for Prom and get ready for Prom, and then it was time for choosing classes for next year, and I guess life just caught up with me for a while there. Oops. But anyway, I'm Back! Kind of, sorta, not really... But still! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and that this blob of whatever this is wasn't too cringey.

Comment what you thought!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	10. Pieces

This was really fun to write!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Marinette woke up the next morning curled up between Alya and Chloe with Alix somehow managing to have flopped over all three of them. And for a moment she was eleven years old again. She wasn't a captain, or stuck on a magical island, or worried about anything but her next design.

But then reality broke through her half-asleep hallucination like a tidal wave.

"Not that this isn't **pawsitively** adorable, but you all need to get up." Plagg said. When that failed to rouse them, he gave a large sigh and started to shove the seven previously sleeping teenagers.

"Was the really necessary Plagg?" Adrien complained, rubbing his shoulder where Plagg had been particularly rough.

"You all **furrced** my hand." Plagg said, shrugging. Chloe groaned, the second pun in as many minutes of her being awake.

"Plagg, if you are done **ruffling their feathers** , breakfast is ready," Trixx said. At the mention of breakfast, even Kim and Nino, who were often the last ones awake, were up and heading over to the rekindled fire. Trixx laughed at her old friend as she patted his shoulder and followed the others to the food.

In the clearing, the soon-to-be-captains were sitting with their respective ships, learning things they loved and hated, types of people that would absolutely be banned from boarding, etc. Things were going pretty well, breakfast was delicious and the complete confusion and fear from the previous day had mostly faded, leaving a burning curiosity in their wake.

It wasn't until Nooroo mentioned how weird it was going to be when they finally returned to the world, that the mood started to sour. "What do you mean Nooroo?" Kim asked, confused.

"Oh! That's right, none of you know! The island is- mph!" Nooroo started to answer before Duusuu quickly covered his mouth.

"Don't worry about that darlings!"

Tikki nodded nervously, "Yeah, it's nothing that important." Duussuu released Nooroo's mouth and went back to where she had been sitting. But there was a new tension in the air that hadn't been there before. The silence was almost deafening.

Finally, Alix remembered something Duusuu had mentioned when they had first met.

 _ **"I mean technically, you, and by extension, the others, are on this beach where time doesn't work quite the same way..."**_

The words themselves had confused her when she'd first heard them, but now pieces were beginning to fall into place. Quietly she got up to get some water from the stream, still lost in thought. Her adoptive siblings could practically see the waves of tense energy rolling off her, and subsequently made them nervous as well. Adrien was less used to how Alix normally was, but he could see the way everyone was growing still, and watching her as she passed. Needless to say, he started to get worried as well.

Tikki seemed to notice her newfound unease in the group and tried to break it up by suggesting a trip to explore the island after Alix returned. The idea was met with agreement and they all naturally paired off the way they had met.

So seven pairs began wandering the island. Everything was going fine, most had even managed to put the morning's less-than-perfect start behind them. Some did so gradually, letting the wonder of seeing a new place naturally distract them. Others were a little more forced about it, not wanting to bring up any more awkward questions.

The day passed quickly, and before anyone realized it, the sun was setting. One by one the pairs headed back to the clearing. Nino and Wyazz were the last to return and what they saw left them both speechless. The tension in the clearing was thick enough to sink a ship. Everyone was on edge. Alix stared at Duusuu, the final rays of sunlight glowing behind her, and said, "I will only ask this once, Duusuu. How long have we been on this island?"

* * *

Hope you don't mind the longerish chapter.

Comment what you thought!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	11. An Answer

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"You've been gone for six years."

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	12. Captain!

So, I'm a terrible person. That much is obvious from my giving you a six-word chapter and then not updating for like two weeks. Sorry about that by the way.

Anyway!

Here is another update!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

The night watchman shivered from where he was huddled at the top of the crow's nest holding onto to fleeting warmth his blanket provided. It was an especially cold night, and he really couldn't wait until the morning shift relieved him. But as luck would have it, he would be the one that ended up spotting something in the early predawn light.

At first, the guard was glad for the chance to move around and regain feeling in his limbs. But as he neared the captain's cabin, the more his relief was replaced with dread at the aspect of actually having to interact with the Captain. He was known to have a short temper and was often cruel to those who he deemed to be wasting his time.

Tentatively the man knocked on the cabin door. It took a few moments before there was any sound within, and it made him just nervous enough to consider the pros and cons of jumping overboard for an impromptu swim lesson. But then the door opened and in the doorway stood a very annoyed looking captain. "What?" He spat bitterly.

"C-Captain sir! I've um spotted w-what appears to be a-a um an island in the distance."

Suddenly the Captain went from angry and annoyed to all business, "Why are you just standing there?! Go rouse the rest of the men!"

"Yes, sir!"

By the time the sun had fully risen from the horizon, the crew members were assembled on the top deck and all staring warily at their captain as he stared menacingly out at the distant island, a crazed smile on his face. He had been obsessed with finding this island for years, and now those efforts would finally be repaid. It didn't matter to him that he had barely been present for his own wedding, or that he had completely missed the birth of his daughter. In fact, it was a topic amongst his men in whether or not he even knew he had a daughter for how much thought he paid his family.

But never the less, he was their Captain (he signed the paychecks).

One brave (or stupid) young soul went up to speak to him, "Um, Captain Dylan sir?" For a moment the rest of the men held their breath fearing that he would lash out and hurt the boy.

"What."

"Well, Captain, the crew and I were just wondering about what we would be doing on the island, now that you've found it?" The flinched, afraid his question had angered the man, as Dylan grabbed his shoulder.

Dylan smiled cruelly at the fear and said to the entire crew, "You all are going to do whatever I tell you to. And right now, you are going to ransack that island until you can find me someone who knows where I can find Ladybug and that accursed ship Tikki."

* * *

This was honestly a chapter I came up with in a day and it feels like the first time my well of creativity has flowed at all in a short while, so I really do hope you enjoyed.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	13. Underestimating

We left Rose in a pretty spotty situation last time we saw her, didn't we? Let's check up on that.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

The bandits whirled around at the sound of her voice, blades out and ready to murder whatever idiot that decided to interrupt their meeting, before relaxing at the sight of what they assumed was a defenseless girl. With renewed confidence that they would remain a secret the leader of the bandits sauntered up to Rose, "Why don't you tell us what you're doing out here first, little lady."

Swallowing the comeback she so desperately wanted to throw out, Rose painted a surprised expression on her face at how close the leader was and gave her best dumb blonde impersonation, "Oh! I'm terribly sorry! How rude of me!" As she spoke, Rose moved subtly so that her back was to a tree, "You see I came out here to pick some flowers from a hidden clearing close to the castle, when I heard your voices. I was worried something bad had happened so I came over here to see if anything was wrong."

Rose was prepared to make her stand right then and there, when one of the smarter men piped up, "A hidden clearing close to the castle?" he asked.

"Oh yes! It has the most beautiful view of the castle at sunset." Rose said, playing up the obliviousness. It seemed that the head of the group had caught on to what his companion was thinking when he sneakily asked,

"Do you think you could show us this clearing?"

"Yeah! It sounds just divine." One of the others said, trying to convince her.

Rose gave her cheeriest, dumbest smile, and said, "Oh I would just love to share the clearing with you gentlemen!" she turned and walked a few paces before turning around and asking, "Do any of you mind if I spray some of my perfume? I've had such a long day, that I just know I smell absolutely horrible, and it would make me feel oh so much better." The six men shrugged and said that none of them had a problem with it. "Thank you so much!" Rose said, as she pulled the small bottle out and sprayed enough that she was sure they could all smell it. Then she started walking again.

As she led them farther and farther from the cliff, Rose would subtly spray a little more of the perfume, and the more relaxed the men became until one of them said, "That sure is some lovely smelling perfume you've got there."

"Why thank you!" Rose giggled, "I made it myself!"

"You don't say." The man replied amicably.

They walked for a while longer, every once in a while someone would ask if they were almost there and Rose would always assure them it was just a little farther, before one of them finally asked, "Say, what did you make that stuff out of anyways?"

From in front of them, Rose smiled, and slowed her pace just a fraction, "I am so glad you asked! Personally, I prefer flowery smells so when I made my perfume, I used a bit of my favorite flowers. You know, rose, lavender, jasmine..." As she spoke, Rose continued to slow down until she was completely stopped. The bandits were so grateful for the stop that they didn't even question it before sliding down to the forest floor. Two even started snoring before they landed on the ground. Rose just stayed still and waited.

The leader of the group didn't know what was happening, one minute he and his men were plotting to sneak into the castle and steal whatever they could, and the next they were all laid out in a haze by a single girl. Managing to collect his thoughts for a moment he managed to ask, "Who are you?"

Rose turned to smile at him, still overly happy and kind, as she stalked slowly towards him, taking her time. Her perfume making it harder and harder for him to stay awake, and just before he too joined his companions in sleep he heard her whisper in his ear, "You can call me Princess Fragrance, and you will regret deciding to steal from the castle." Rose smiled as she watched his eyes widen briefly at the mention of her name before he slipped into a deep dreamless sleep.

Taking the hilt of her dagger, Rose walked around and made sure that all six men would stay unconscious until she could come back and collect them. After she was done, the happy young poisoner looked around the clearing before staring up at the sky between the trees, to see how long she had before dark arrived and she had to be back. Since it was summer, Rose figured she had a least an hour or two left.

Turning back the way she came, the sweet young lady mumbled to herself, "I wonder if I should try and get Max and Nathaniel to help me or if I should just go straight to the guards?"

* * *

Standing at the dock Ivan and Mylene handed over the carefully written letters to the three mail ships that would hopefully take the invitations to their intended destinations. The first two had no problem with the places they had to go, but the third (who held the most) had some concerns.

"So you mean to tell me that my crew and I are just supposed to aimlessly travel around hoping that we run into this one particular ship, at which point we are supposed to give them all to one person?" The captain of the ship asked skeptically.

"Sir I know it seems ridiculous, but your ship is the only one that will be crossing the Liberty's usual trade routes, so you should pass by them at least once." Mylene pleaded with the man, who for his part rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"It's not that I don't trust you two, you've kept my kids entertained on more than one occasion. And we have had our encounters with Liberty before, and they have always been polite. But Ivan, Mylene, I'm a mail carrier, my entire job is to make sure your letters get to where they're going, and a moving ship is kind of a hard thing to track down." Mylene lowered her head in acknowledgment of his point. Then he smiled "But since this is for your wedding, I guess it should be just as unorthodox as the two of you. We'll try to do it."

Ivan smiled and patted the captain on the shoulder as Mylene did her best not to tackle hug him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" The mail captain laughed and gave them both a quick hug before boarding his ship and setting sail.

As a silent good luck charm, the happy couple stood on the docks until all three ships were completely out of sight. It was then, and only then, that the two of them headed away from the docks and further out on the beach. When they were sure that no one would bother them, Ivan took a glass bottle from his pocket. Inside was one last sealed invitation and the last of their hope for their missing friends.

Hand in hand the two of them walked slowly into the waves until Mylene was hip deep. Ivan gave the cork one last good shove to make sure it would stay in before passing it to his fiance, who gave it a kiss for good luck and threw it even further out to sea.

"I hope they find it."

"Me too Ivan. Me too."

* * *

So this one is longer and a whole week ahead of schedule because next week I will for sure definitely not be able to update. I know by this point you're like "yeah and?" but it's also an apology for taking so long to update new chapters. So take of this what you will.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	14. Message in a Bottle

Muhahahahahahahahahahaha! I have managed to keep my schedule!

You all would not believe how hard this chapter was to write, despite me having had it in mind for a while!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Their return to awareness did not happen immediately, in fact, it took almost three hours for them to even show signs of life. But return they did, and with varying degrees of shock, fear, and anger. Adrien was horrified to discover that his dad would probably think him dead by now. Marinette was worried about the rest of her family and crew. Chloe was unsettled thinking about what could've happened to everyone she knew and loved in that time. Nino was trying to stay calm for his siblings' sakes, but even he was freaking out about the revelation of such a time-jump. Alix was trying to calm herself down from an all-encompassing rage so that Kim wouldn't pick up on it and get angry as well. Kim was silently glaring at a tree, and doing his best not to punch anyone around him.

Alya, however, had no such reservations. She was stalking around the clearing, rage radiating off of her in waves. She was pissed.

No one knew what drew her attention to him. Maybe he'd made a sound, or she'd caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, or maybe she'd always been aware of him, and her rage had finally made her snap. But whatever the reason, one moment she was pacing and the next she was lunging at the lounging and relaxed figure of Plagg.

Before anyone had time to react she had already landed a solid punch or two, only to be dragged back, by Nino and Kim, with a bleeding fist and not a scratch or dent on Plagg.

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MY SISTERS BECAUSE OF YOU! THEY COULD HAVE DIED AND ALL BECAUSE I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE! YOU CAN'T JUST SAY WE'VE BEEN MISSING FOR SIX YEARS AND THEN JUST LAY AROUND LIKE THAT!" Alya screamed, still struggling in the grasp of her friends. The pain of her possibly broken hand not having reached her brain yet so she just continued to shout abuse after abuse at Plagg and the others.

"Are you guys still on that? It's been like an eighth of the day already. Get over it." Plagg whined, ignoring the glares his partners were sending him.

At his words, Kim and Nino released their holds on Alya and backed away, sensing the impending explosion and not wanting to get caught up in it. She was already getting ready to charge him again. When Trixx snuck up behind her and pulled the younger woman to her chest and started slowly rocking back and forth.

Alya struggled against her grip for a time, before the motion began to soothe her rage and replace it with the sadness that had been clawing at her heart. Silently she turned around in Trixx's arms and hugged the fox-like woman as tears silently began to fall.

The shock of watching her cool-headed sister lose her composure like that was too much for Chloe. Quietly she backed further and further into the trees until she turned around and started running down the mountain. Turns out, sprinting down a mountain is a lot quicker than hiking up one because Chloe reached the beach in record time. Stumbling forward out of breath and slightly dizzy, she reached the closest bit of sand that wouldn't pull her out to see with the tide before collapsing.

Chloe didn't know how long she lay on that strip of beach. She only knew that at some point Pollen had found her and placed Chloe's head in her lap. They stayed in that position for a while longer, Chloe sorting through her thoughts and Pollen gently stroking her captain's hair. Finally, Chloe drew up the courage to ask, "Why didn't Alya's punches hurt Plagg, Pollen?"

Pollen hesitated, it wasn't an easy question for her to answer. "Well... It is hard to explain, my captain. You know how we explained that we are not really human anymore, well that is more than just immortality and turning into magnificent ships on occasion."

"I don't understand. Alya couldn't hurt Plagg because he's immortal?"

"Yes and no. Yes, being immortal makes it harder to hurt us, but Alya is a strong girl and to another immortal, those attacks still would have done damage however slight. But no, our immortal status is not why Plagg was not injured. It is more like, after being watercraft for so long, our bodies still retain some similarities to our larger counterparts. We all think it is a side effect of the spell that originally gave us this gift, so it is different for each of us."

Chloe was about to ask for a better explanation when Nooroo came running towards them out of breath.

"Nooroo!" Pollen exclaimed worried, "What happened? Is something wrong?"

"Sorry," he panted, "Someone found a message in a bottle and miss Marinette thinks it's important, so I came to get you and miss Chloe!" Chloe and Pollen jumped up, ignoring the protesting of their leg muscles at being stretched after so long resting, and began to follow Nooroo.

* * *

Writing this chapter somehow took a lot out of me, the number of scrapped beginnings can attest to that! But I really did love writing it once I got my inspiration back.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	15. Leaving

Believe me, I know how close I'm cutting this. But unfortunately I was sick for most of the past week, so not much writing was done. That doesn't matter now though, because I FINISHED IT ON TIME! WOOOOO!

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

When the final three arrived at the spot, the others were discussing something. Pollen walked up. "So what's so important about this message that everyone's putting their freakouts on hold?" She asked.

Wayzz held the note up gently, "It's not just a message, Pollen. It's a wedding invitation. For our captains."

"...I-I'm sorry, what?" Chloe finally managed to ask. "Who... Who's sending _**us**_ wedding invitations?!"

Alix answered, "Ivan and Mylene. Apparently."

The blonde blinked, "Huh. I always had my money on Rose and Juleka tying the knot first."

"I know right?!"

Pollen smiled and clapped her hands. "Oh, I just love weddings! When are we leaving?"

Tikki, Trixx, and Plagg looked like they'd just heard the greatest news, while Duusuu started moaning about how much she'd miss her 'beautiful body'. Wayzz and Nooroo just looked a little put out.

"We leave immediately." Tikki said after she got done with her own personal victory dance, "You were the deciding vote, Pollen."

Adrien spoke up then, "Um, not to put a damper on the mood, but how? You guys are still, well _purrson_ shaped." The reaction was two-sided. On one hand, Plagg, Trixx, Wayzz, Kim, Duusuu, and Alix all found it hilarious. Everyone else, however, started groaning.

Once he finished laughing, Plagg explained, "Well kid, you're the captains. You tell us what to do." There was an awkward silence as the seven ships decided who would go first. Finally, Tikki sighed in exasperation and said she would be first.

The cat-like man watched as Tikki whispered something to Marinette, and started walking into the ocean. She was waist deep in ocean water before Plagg spoke again, softer so that only Adrien could hear, "We all have our own magical phrases though."

Together, the twelve remaining watched as Tikki nodded at her captain, who nodded back and spoke, "Tikki! Spots on!" And in a flash of red, the small woman was gone, and in her place the infamous pirate ship.

"Just so you know, Kid," Plagg whispered, "A Chat Noir always follows their Ladybug." He winked at the blond boy and said, "I think it's time I let my **claws out** , don't you Adrien?" Then Plagg walked out into the ocean.

Marinette was already boarding Tikki when Adrien called out, "Plagg! Claws out!"

One by one the others walked into the water and waited for their captain's orders.

"Wayzz! Shell on!"

"Trixx! Let's pounce!"

"Pollen! Buzz on!"

"Nooroo! Wings rise!"

Before Duusuu entered the water, she grabbed Alix and spun her around. "My darling Captain! You and I will do wonderful things together!" Then she was in the ocean and waiting for her orders.

"Duusuu! Fan feathers!"

Once all seven captains were aboard their respective ships, they tied a rope to the bow and sterns so that they wouldn't get too separated, at least until they all got used to managing their own ship.

With that, they left the wonderful island paradise.

* * *

This chapter was tough to write for some reason. I feel like I've said that about all the chapters lately. Oh well.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	16. Taking the Harbor

After two long months here it is!

I have no one to blame but myself for this.

But now I've written something I kind of like with this chapter so here you are!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Dylan paced back and forth in his cabin. He'd gone off rumor after rumor, but it seemed that the pirate captain Ladybug and their ship Tikki had fallen off the face of the Earth in a single year. Not only that, but the stupid map he had received from that trader had done absolutely nothing. It infuriated him, to no end._

 _A familiar voice cut through Dylan's inner rant, "Wow, you really are a sad sight. I mean, before you were kinda sad, but now you're just full-on pathetic." He whirled around in time to see the mysterious traveler from the year before. Charter was giving Dylan an exaggerated look of pity._

 _"You." The sneer in Dylan's voice was almost visible._

 _Charter ignored it in favor of examining the room, "You know, most people I trade with are at least able to do something with what they are given. In fact, you and the lovely miss Lila might be the first people I've ever given exactly what they need to succeed and then do absolutely nothing with it." Charter looked over his shoulder and gave a mocking grin, "Congratulations."_

 _"Is there a reason you're here or can I just skip to the part where I shoot you?"_

 _Charter pouted, "Now that's just rude. Here I am going out of my way to give you a second chance and you go and threaten to shoot me!" Hands-on his hips, Charter moved until he was sitting in the Captain's chair. "You're lucky I find you amusing. Now sit." he said gesturing to the chair on the other side of the desk._

 _Dylan moved to sit warily. It wasn't every day, after all, that a possibly supernatural creature waltzes into his cabin and starts ordering him around. Once the young man was seated, Charter leaned across the desk, "Now normally I wouldn't give you the time of day after you wasted my last gift. But this isn't a normal situation." Charter tapped Dylan's nose, "So this first piece of info is... given at a discount: Ladybug will return five years from now. Until then you, my annoyingly stubborn friend are going to look for and find the mysterious island harbor. When the day comes that you find the harbor, you will know that Ladybug is due to return."_

 _"What on earth is that supposed to mean?!"_

 _Charter shrugged nonchalantly as he walked towards the door, "Figure it out!" By the time Dylan had stood up and raced to the door ready to demand answers from Charter, the other man was gone._

* * *

Tom and Sabine had just closed up the bakery for the night and were getting ready to go visit Gabriel when it happened. The dock was lit up with the sound of cannon shots, the sound of shattering wood, and the heavy stench of smoke. Gabriel met them as they were running towards the burning ships.

"Tom! Sabine! What's going on?!"

"If we all survive whatever this is I'll tell you!"

But before they even saw the docks, however, all three of them were jumped from behind and something blunt hit them over the head as they were forced to the ground.

The last thing Sabine heard before everything went black was a young man's voice saying, "Sorry ma'am. I'm jus' followin' orders."

Tom saw his wife and friend go down and tried to stand and protect them, but the throbbing in his skull was too much to ignore, and he barely took three steps toward them when another hit sent him to the ground again.

By the time the three of them were being dragged toward the scent of fire and smoke, Gabriel had regained just enough consciousness to feel every time he hit a particularly large and rough cobblestone. Before long Gabriel felt himself being lifted and the swaying of a boat only served to make him feel sickly.

Whoever was carrying him obviously didn't care how their captives were feeling because Gabriel was unceremoniously dropped onto the wooden planks of his cell. After that, he drifted in and out of awareness and he's pretty sure he emptied the contents of his stomach at one point.

Time passed but meant nothing to him, until suddenly there was a loud and sudden hammering at the door submerging him into the conscious world.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU YELLOW BELLIED COWARD! FACE ME LIKE A PIRATE!" Sabine's normally calm and reserved voice was shouting itself hoarse as she shook the bars. Gabriel would be lying to himself if he said that the sight didn't frighten him to his very soul. Tom was still unconscious and Gabriel couldn't help but envy the larger man not having to see such a terrifying sight.

Just as Gabriel was going to attempt to speak to Sabine, the door opened and a young man walked into the holding cell. The growl Sabine sent his way would've made braver men falter, but was either extremely cocky or completely sure that the bars would hold the enraged woman.

"You know, for such a small woman, you have a surprisingly powerful voice." The young man said as he walked closer to the bars. His first mistake.

With the grace and speed of a woman who knows what she's doing, Sabine reached through the bars and grabbed the young man's coat and pulled him flush against the bars. "My voice isn't the only powerful thing about me! Now tell me who you are before I do something only one of us will live to regret." The anger and strength in her voice was enough to send Gabriel to the other side of their shared cell.

But to Gabriel's surprise, the young man just yanked himself out of Sabine's grip, "I'm sure you would ma'am if you were in your best fighting form, but you've suffered a rather nasty blow to the head. You can't be feeling too strong right about now." He straightened his now wrinkled coat and continued, "You're lucky. After all, if I didn't need all of you people alive, you'd already be fish food." He strode towards the door just before he left the young man turned around and said, "But since you went through all that trouble, you may call me Captain Dylan."

* * *

So! Surprise treat if I can get it out in time! The big 1 8 is happening for me on Friday and if I can, I'm gonna post a second chapter for y'all! A treat from me to you!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. Have a nice day!

See ya next time!


	17. She's a What Now!

I.O.N.

Enjoy.

* * *

Alix was dreaming fitfully, it had been a week since they'd started their return journey and the storm outside wasn't helping the reoccurring nightmare.

 _When Alix regained consciousness, it was to the pounding of her head, the sound of hushed conversations and a rather concerning voice in her mind screaming at her that something was wrong. She must have groaned or made some noise because suddenly her family was around her. Kim tried to ask her something, but even though he was crouching right in front of her, Alix could barely hear what he was saying._

 _Alix could see the worry and panic start to well up in his eyes, and she immediately went to comfort him, but the moment she raised her right hand, what was supposed to be her hand, all she saw was a bandaged stump. Horror welled up in her stomach and threatened to make her return any food she'd eaten recently. She clutched the bandaged stump to her chest and tried to fight the tears. For a moment she didn't even remember how it happened._

 _Then it all came rushing back. The wedding, Dylan threatening Tom and Sabine, the battle, Ivan clubbing Dylan, the relieved smile Kim shot her when they thought it was all over, Dylan rushing her, Dylan tackling her over the edge of his ship, unimaginable pain flaring in her right hand, a sharp pain in the back of her head, and then nothing._

 _Now, Alix didn't fight the tears, she was too shocked. Next thing she realized, Kim was crushing her to his chest in the tightest hug she'd ever felt. But she hardly even felt it._ _ **'What am I going to do now? I can't be a Captain with no hearing! What changed? Why didn't I see this -'**_

Alix shot up, breathing hard, sweat pouring off. But even as she calmed down, the nightmare faded from her mind. A troubling thought, since her dreams were rarely ever just dreams.

But the sun was up, and there was little she could do about it now, so Alix put the nightmare behind her and dressed for the day. After a small internal debate, she decided to go with one of the slightly less formal captain designs Mari had made. Something told her, today would be important.

* * *

Adrien was bailing the excess water off the deck from the previous night's storm when he noticed something that definitely didn't belong. A fish scale. Or more precisely, a giant fish scale. Big enough that it fit neatly into the palm of his hand. When Adrien picked it up to get a closer look, he found that it was a nearly translucent shade of crimson.

Curious, and more than a tad concerned, Adrien went to shout for one of the others (or even try that telepathic bond he may or may not have had with Plagg) when he noticed another scale. And another. Completely overcome by curiosity at this point, Adrien followed them, wanting to see what kind of creature could have scales like that.

The trail led him to the fishing nets where Adrien found a young woman with a tail tangled up and glaring at him. Luckily for him, he passed out before she could start yelling at him.

* * *

Marinette was concerned when Tikki woke her up with a sense of foreboding and intense feeling that she needed to go check on Adrien. The foreboding was knew but wanting to check on Adrien first thing in the morning wasn't. She couldn't help but worry about him. Adrien was the newest one to sailing, let alone being a pirate. But she couldn't coddle him, otherwise, he'd never learn. So with an effort that can only come from long practice, Marinette pushed the feelings deep, deep, down and continued her morning ritual.

She was able to ignore them for a total of two hours before her resolve to let Adrien figure out his problem on his own broke and she was rushing to the edge of Tikki. When she finally got to Plagg (just a few seconds ahead of the others), Marinette was surprised to find a fainted Adrien and a seriously pissed off mermaid.

"Well, it is about time someone got here! I have been stuck in these nets all night and this _human_ has been absolutely no help at all!" the mermaid complained.

"And you are?" Nino asked.

"Please. As if you _sailors_ do not already know." The mermaid said as she flipped her short hair.

Alya tried to smooth things over a little, "Right now all we know is that you're a **mermaid** and that you aren't supposed to be here."

"Ow, my head." Adrien said as he regained consciousness. He sat up and looked around slightly confused.

"Adrien! You okay bro?"

"Yeah, just had the weirdest dream that a mermaid was on Plagg and - oh. Not a dream."

"Nope." Nino said grinning, having gotten over his own shock.

"Bu-but that shouldn't be possible! Mermaids aren't real!"

Chloe looked at Adrien like he was being overdramatic, "Of course they're real! We told about the time we went searching and ran into a bit of trouble with them."

"Yeah, but I thought you were joking!"

"Excuse me, but I am not a _mermaid_! I am a siren! And I demand that you return me to my Wisp this instant!" The siren exclaimed. Unfortunately, it seemed only Kim and Alix heard her.

"Well, that's just lovely!" Kim joked.

"We've got a homicidal drama queen!" Alix added.

"You are all being extremely rude. I demand to talk to your captain! Surely they will listen to reason."

That got Adrien's attention, who immediately slipped into his newly discovered 'Captain Mode', and said (much to the horror of half the other people on deck, and the humor of the rest), "That'd be me. I'm Catptain Chat Noir, and can I just say what a purrfect day it is to be meeting you. And this is my feline ship Plagg!"

"Kill me now." The siren deadpanned. But by this point, Adrien was on a roll.

"Awe! Purrhaps my puns are not up to your taste? It's quite alright, I know everyone can't have as clawsome a sense of humor as me. But maybe I can shell you on them? Of course, I completely undersand if you don't like them, not everyone was mermade for puns." This continued for a while as Alya and Nino just kept encouraging him.

"Does he ever shut up?" The disgruntled siren asked Kim and Alix, the only two who seemed to have sanity. As Marinette had left around the time Nino joined in on the puns, Chloe was currently trying to give herself brain damage, and the other three were still making puns with no sign of stopping.

"Yes, but only long enough for the others to join in." Kim answered with a shudder. This actually startled a laugh out of the siren, who winced right after, rubbing her tail. Alix noticed and realized how painful the ropes must have been on her.

"What were we thinking? Your tail must be nearly useless! Let us help you untangle some of this."

"Thank you... I am sorry, but I do not believe I ever got your names?"

"And you'll continue to not get it," Kim said with a smile. "but we can tell you what the people here call us."

"That would be acceptable."

"They call me Nabi. More specifically Captain Nabi, of the ship Nooroo."

"And I am Captain Paon. Of the ship Duusuu."

"Well Captain Nabi, Captain Paon, I am Kagami from the Whirlpools of Ending."

"Pleasure to meet you Kagami!"

Alix was going to add something, but then a stray thought crossed her mind, "Kagami, would you say you know anything about sailing?"

Confused, Kagami answered, "Like all my people I am skilled in any form of water transportation. Why?"

"Well, it's just that Captain Chat Noir is really new to all of this," Alix pointed to where the three of them were still laughing like idiots, and refusing to admit that some of the puns got to her too. "and I thought you might be willing to help him out."

Kagami eyed the young man she had first encountered and agreed that he would probably die without someone to help him, "Navigating will be difficult, seeing as I do not possess any legs to walk with." To Kagami's surprise though, Kim actually laughed.

"That won't be a problem! Captain Queen Bee has some stuff that'll fix that!"

"And this Captain Queen Bee would be?"

"Me." Chloe said as she walked over, eyeing the other two suspiciously, "Why, what are you planning? And why does it involve me?"

"We were just thinking that Chat could use a little help is all!"

"You're lucky I agree, but shouldn't you be asking the captain that?" Chloe reminded them.

"Oh! Right! Knew we were forgetting something!"

Kagami rolled her eyes with a laugh as Captain Chat Noir heard their proposal, they were all idiots. How had she started liking them again?

* * *

No wonder I couldn't think of anything for so long! This piece was trying to kill me!

Remember, every comment helps motivate me to stay on schedule! So tell me what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	18. Attention

So, I should probably give you guys an update on why I've been dead with this story for the last two months.

Right after I published the last chapter, Musical at my school started and I was one of the stage managers for it. The Musical, Freaky Friday, only wrapped up on Sunday, so I've been mostly working on my smaller stories, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd abandoned this one. I love all of you so much for sticking with this story and your support for it. You guys are the best readers a writer could ask for.

But enough about my boring life!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Nathaniel chased after Rose. She had surprised him ten minutes earlier and snatched his book, starting the chase. If it had been anyone else, or if it had been the first time she'd done it, Nathaniel would've been furious. Unfortunately for him, Rose was just as adept at getting away from him as he was at finding her, and he was just slightly out of practice.

Before Nathaniel could follow her around a corner, he heard her yelp in surprise and a loud crash. "Rose!" Nathaniel shouted, now running to make sure she was okay.

"ImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorry!" Rose could be heard profusely apologizing. When Nathaniel caught up, he almost immediately wished he could travel back in time and avoid this whole mess. On the other side of Rose was Master Demarcus sprawled out on the floor.

"M-Master! Are you okay?! Let me help you up!" Nathaniel stuttered, rushing to help.

"Get off me you bumbling fool!" the older man growled. "You are fortunate that his Majesty requested that I bring both of you to him, or else you would be in charge of cleaning my brushes for the next month boy!"

Nathaniel gulped, "Yes Master."

"You said that King Ali wanted to see us, did he say why?" Rose asked, trying to defuse the tension between the two artists.

"That is not for you to concern yourself with, _**girl**_. All you need to know is that you have been summoned."

Rose's response was decidedly _less_ cheery, and she noticed that Nathaniel looked like he wanted to smack his teacher, "Of course Mister Demarcus! Please! Lead the way!" As they walked, Rose did her best to contain her anger. It wouldn't be the first time one of the older attendants in the palace had spoken down to her. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she was only brought out of them when for the second time that day, she collided with someone. _'I'm getting to be as bad as Marinette!'_ Rose thought almost laughing until she realized what that thought truly entailed that her smile dimmed ever so slightly.

When Rose finally looked up, she saw that it was Max she had sent sprawling to the floor. "Max! Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? What are you doing in this part of the palace? Mister Demarcus said we were summoned by the King. Were you summoned too?"

"Yes, Rose. The King, it seems, has something he would like to speak with us about." Max sighed, "It's too bad, he couldn't have done this at a better time. I was working on something quite important."

Master Demarcus launched into one of his long-winded lectures/rants, "Hold your tongue! When his Majesty summons you, there is nothing more important! How ungrateful of you to take advantage of his Majesty's and the late King's, may he rest in peace, hospitality and then have the audacity to say that a summons is inconvenient for you!" By the time he finished, only Max was paying attention, and that was only so he could tell the old man exactly where he could shove his rants. Master Demarcus blustered "You dare-!"

Luckily for their eardrums, Ali showed up, "Ah! Master Demarcus! Thank you for bringing them! The four of us have much to discuss!"

"Of course your Majesty. But if I might ask-"

"I assure you, Master Demarcus, there is no reason for you concern yourself." The dismissal was obvious.

"Of course your Majesty." Demarcus bowed and closed the door behind him.

"Are the three of you alright? I know he can be a bit intense." Ali asked once he heard the door click.

Nathaniel waved off the concern, "I've worked with him for a while now, so I'm used to his lectures."

"How he sees me is of little consequence." Max rolled his eyes.

"It's fine King Ali." Rose said kindly, "You said you wanted to talk about something?"

"Yes. I am afraid this is not just a friendly gathering." Ali took a deep breath and launched into the thick of it, "As you have undoubtedly heard, Max, there has been an increase in bandits throughout the surrounding areas, and I am afraid that they have even managed to get as close to the castle as the woods."

Max thought his answer through for a moment, "You are correct King Ali. The few reports I have been allowed to see, show a more concentrated focus on the capital than anywhere else. It seems someone in the bandits may be trying to rally them. But I cannot see how this has anything to do with Rose, Nathaniel, or myself. Would it not be better to discuss this with your generals?" he asked.

"If it were a normal case, yes. But I was hoping for a more... creative... solution that I feel only the experience the three of you have would suffice." The king looked each of them in the eye as he spoke, hoping they would understand his unspoken request.

They more than understood what he was asking and their demeanors shifted. Not by much, but Ali could tell he was no longer speaking to just Max, Nathaniel, and Rose. He was also talking to the long quieted pirates Gamer, Evillustrator, and Miss Fragrance, "Not to be rude King Ali, but if it is our past experience you are after, and I don't think I am out of turn in saying it is. Then what would we be getting out of it?" The king almost smiled, it seemed that even the noblest of pirates still needed a reason to help.

"Yes. Nathaniel does bring up an important point." Max added, "Asking us to... handle this problem ourselves could put us in a great amount of danger, is there anything you are prepared to compensate us with?"

"You are both right, of course. I wouldn't ask this of you out of the goodness of your hearts. Yesterday, a mail ship came with a letter from Mylene and Ivan asking if I knew of a large area that would be willing to host a wedding." Ali was interrupted by a loud squealing.

"MYLENE AND IVAN ARE GETTING MARRIED!? YES!"

With a small laugh, Ali continued, "Of course, I immediately thought to offer my home so that there might be enough room. So dealing with this problem would also ensure that the wedding would go off without a problem."

Max shared a look with his former shipmates and responded, "...King Ali, I believe you have our attention."

* * *

"That girl is so strange." A young woman whispered to her friend as Sabrina rushed past, heading towards the docks.

"Always off at that cliff. One would think she was some lovesick teenager!" Her friend added in. The others in their group nodded and muttered their agreement.

"You all know it's not right for us to assume anything with her. We know nothing of her history and don't know what she's been through." An older woman with faded orange hair spoke up from behind the group, making them all jump.

"Easy enough for you to say Caline! She's staying with you, of course, she isn't going to do anything weird! But I'm telling you, something isn't right about her!" One of the braver women spoke up. Few were willing to speak out against the teacher. They had all been taught by her, and they all knew what she could, and would, do.

Mrs. Bustier had apparently had enough, "And I'm telling you, Sabrina is a sweet girl. She is always volunteering to help the community and yet what she chooses to do with her spare time causes you all to gossip and paint her in such a dark light!" With one last dark look at the group of young women, she walked away and began to head toward the docks where Sabrina had last been seen.

She had no more turned the first corner when Sabrina nearly slammed into her. "THEIR GETTING MARRIED!" Sabrina squealed.

Caline laughed, "That's wonderful Sabrina! Who's getting married?"

"Some old friends of mine! We all knew they were in love, the two of them were just too shy to admit it! But now they're GETTING MARRIED!" Caline smiled as Sabrina continued to ramble, "Oh it's going to be just like a family reunion! I can't wait to see what they've all been up to!"

It was only after she'd finished talking that Sabrina realized she'd drawn a crowd from the girls who had just been gossiping about her. If she hadn't been so happy she would've blushed at having drawn that much attention to herself.

But at that moment, she was too happy to even try and wipe the smile off her face. She was finally going to see the rest of her family again!

* * *

I hope you enjoyed!

Comment what you thought!

I am so tired right now. Why am I like this!

See ya next time!


	19. Pirates!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Even though it's like eleven at night. And if you celebrate Thanksgiving on a different day, then Happy Random Fourth Thursday in November!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Two days before Sabrina planned to leave the town for Mylene and Ivan's wedding, she was shaken awake by a frantic Caline. "Wha~?" Sabrina asked tiredly, rubbing at her eyes.

"Pirates are raiding the town!" Caline replied eyes wide with fear. Sabrina was suddenly awake and listening intently, "They are barging into houses and taking everyone!"

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where are they taking everyone?"

"How is that important right now?! Sabrina, you need to leave!"

"If anything is important, it's knowing where everyone is being taken."

"How?!"

Sabrina looked at the woman who had become like family to her, "Where these pirates take the others can tell me a lot about what their plans are."

Caline was starting to breathe heavily, "I-I don't know! The town square maybe?"

Sabrina felt a tendril of fear that was quickly replaced with cold certainty. "Mrs. Bustier, do you think I would have enough time to get something from my trunk?"

"What? This is hardly the time for you to be going through old memories! Sabrina, you need to get out of here!" Caline begged one last time, hoping that she would finally listen.

"I have a way of getting rid of the pirates but I need time."

For the first time that early morning Caline really looked at Sabrina. She didn't even look really phased about the pirates, and now she was talking about having a way of getting rid of them? That didn't sound like the quiet shy girl that had been living in her back room. "Sabrina, what are you talking about? They are pirates. Actual pirates! How could you possibly have a way of making them leave?"

Sabrina stood up and hugged the older woman. "I know it's a lot to ask, but please. Trust me." Something in her voice must have convinced Mrs. Busteir because she returned the hug

"I shouldn't, but I will. Tell me what you need."

"Just make sure that no one comes back here."

"Okay. I'm trusting you."

* * *

Backing away from the younger ginger, Caline walked away and closed the door on her way out. Within ten minutes there was a banging on her door before it was busted in and three figures stormed in. Without even a word to her, two of the figures grabbed her, while the third proceeded to search the house. Caline went quietly and prayed that Sabrina really did have a plan.

* * *

Sabrina spared a glance towards the door once it was closed, and then forced herself to move towards her trunk. The same trunk she had shoved everything related to her life as a pirate in, two years after her captains, and Adrien to a lesser extent, disappeared. But now the people she had come to care for were once again in trouble, and this time, she wouldn't let it happen lying down.

Opening the trunk with more force than was strictly necessary, Sabrina carefully pulled out and once again donned the persona of the Vanisher. From the other side of the room, the doorknob started to rattle and Sabrina grabbed the finishing piece of her uniform, her cloak, and slipped into the farthest corner from the door to hide herself.

The man did a cursory sweep of the room, saw nothing of value, and closed the door. Completely unaware that he now had a second shadow.

* * *

Caline was not herded toward the town square like she had thought she would be. Instead, she was taken towards the pier and a boat that she had never seen before. She really hoped that Sabrina's plan didn't solely revolve around them being in the center of town. They marched her down to the belly of the ship where the rest of the town was chained, thankfully, Caline saw very few children in chains. It gave her hope.

The two pirates chained her in the same area as some of the younger girls. "And where is _Sabrina_?" One of them sneered as soon as their 'guards' had left.

"Obviously not here Lynda." Caline snapped tiredly.

* * *

As Vanisher followed the pirate toward the docks, she felt that tendril of fear return, this time about what their real intent for the town was. Approaching the actual ship Vanisher's fear turned into a ball of rage. In its dark purple cursive Vanisher could make out the name _**Akuma**_. Despite her new anger, she continued to follow the man silently.

Once they were on board, Vanisher broke away and looked for the captain. Unsurprisingly, he was in his cabin not doing a single thing. It was tempting to reveal herself then and there, but Vanisher resisted, and lived up to her name as she moved silently closer.

Swiftly, Vanisher grabbed Hawk Moth and pulled him spluttering out of his cabin. "GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Hawk Moth managed to shout.

Vanisher held a sword to his throat once they had an audience. One of the smarter pirates slowly approached her, "Now, now. No one needs to get hurt here. So why don't you let our captain go and we'll let you go." Vanisher shook her head. The man's eyes hardened, "We have you surrounded! You don't really have much bargaining here!"

Glaring at the other man, Vanisher threw Hawk Moth to the deck and kept him there with her boot. Now that her hands were free, Vanisher pointed her sword to the belly of the ship. Quietly making her demands known.

"You think we're just gonna release our new workers?! No way!" A different pirate shouted. The first pirate waved the second one down and looked closer at Vanisher.

"Who are you? Why do you care about these people?"

Vanisher smirked and with her free hand, removed the hood of her cloak revealing her tell-tale mask. She nearly laughed when the surrounding pirates gasped and backed away slightly. It was a slight ego boost to know that nearly a decade later, she could still inspire fear into the hearts of others as a member of Tikki. Vanisher waved her sword and motioned for them to drop their weapons. Only a few resisted, and as out of practice as she was, Vanisher was able to make them reconsider.

"You still haven't answered my second question." The talkative pirate said, "Why do you care about these people?" Vanisher shrugged and took the keys from his belt.

* * *

The hatch opened and the townspeople recoiled because they couldn't really see anyone at the door. Finally, a slip of moonlight entered the hull, and started unlocking their chains, while helping them out.

Caline had been one of the last to be captured, so she was one of the first freed. As she helped people she had known all her life out of the hull of the ship, Caline saw that nearly every pirate was on the ground without their weapons. One that wasn't was actually tied up and shouting bloody murder, "YOU'RE SCUM! IT WAS ONE PERSON! YOU SORRY EXCUSES OF SAILORS COULDN'T TAKE ON _ONE_ SLIP OF A PERSON!? THERE'S TWELVE OF YOU! I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE A MYTH! IT'S STILL ONE PERSON!" The other pirates were taking the abuse without comment. Whoever had come to save them was obviously more terrifying than their own captain. Caline really hoped that the person freeing them meant them well.

* * *

It's still Thursday! I'm not late! I did it! WOOOOOOO!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	20. Landfall

Hi hi! So over Thanksgiving Day's weekend, I got strep throat! It's only just recently started to clear up so I haven't had any time to work on this chapter. Or even think about it really. Sorry. But now I'm at least semi-coherent and I still want to be on time for an update.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

They had finally made landfall after a month two nights ago, and everyone was relaxing at the small harbors pub. It had been decided that, since Kim was the most intimidating and Marinette was probably _least_ likely to start a fight with someone else, Kagami, who had never been on solid land or around so many humans, would stay with them. Adrien, who had only gotten accidentally drunk at parties Lila had invited him to, was under the watchful eye of Chloe, who had the best tolerance out of them all.

When Kim found out that Kagami had never had a drink before, he immediately got drinks for the three of them. It was an odd feeling for the siren, but she was quickly realizing that after the first few sips, it wasn't that bad.

A few hours and many drinks later, Kagami laughed at a story Marinette was telling, thoroughly drunk "You did not!"

Marinette giggled as she took another sip of her drink, "We most certainly did! Lady Discourse didn't even realize we were on board until two hours later when they found us in their cellar almost completely drunk!"

"And they just let you go after that?"

"No. The three of us were tied up and doused in cold water until they decided we were sober again. Guess they didn't want the fish to get their booze!"

Kim, who was completely and irrevocably drunk by this point laughed and pounded his mug on the table. Marinette finished her story by draining the last of her drink and hiccuping.

At the bar, Alix was nursing a water as she people watched.

Nino and Alya were sitting at a corner table doing who knows what. A drunk man was stumbling around the room looking for anyone who would buy him another drink. Chloe was down at the other end of the bar swindling a couple of thug-like men into a drinking contest (losers buy all) while Adrien sat beside her way out of his depth. Two young men, new recruits of the navy if their uniforms were anything to go off of, walked in and started trying to throw their weight around. Alix decided to keep an eye on them, just in case. Kagami seemed to be recounting a funny story to Marinette and Kim who were both laughing.

As her eyes drifted over the pub and its inebriated inhabitants, the bartender walked over, "Sure you don't want something stronger miss?" he asked eyeing her drink.

"No, my friends have started insisting that I avoid the strong stuff." Alix laughed.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"Well apparently, I get mean when I'm drunk and _'start too many fights!'_ Which, I have to admit is partially true."

"Only partially?"

Alix sat up straight like a proper lady and said, " _I_ have never started a fight." Then she leaned closer to him and said, "But I have ended them." The bartender laughed. It wasn't often a small young woman could claim that she ended most of the fights she got into, but something about her made him believe it.

Then Alix shrugged and said, "Also because out of all of us, I have the worst tolerance for alcohol." Before the bartender could respond, the two young men who had entered earlier started making a racket.

With a roll of his eyes, he said, "Duty calls." Before heading over to try and calm them down.

Around the room, seven people finally felt like they were home. Or were at least on their way back.

* * *

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See you next time!


	21. A New Recruit

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And more specifically for today, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday today!

Once again, I apologize for the late update, I shall do better!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe looked up from her drinking competition when someone at the bar started shouting, "ISN'T THERE _ANY_ DECENT SERVICE FOR TWO _HARDWORKING_ SAILORS!?" With a snort, Chloe resumed destroying the three bigger men at her table as the two boys at the bar continued to demand service. Finally, after the last man flat out refused to order another round, he could just sense that his wallet couldn't afford to take on the young blonde any longer, Chloe decided that she was bored and that the yelling was getting obnoxious.

She smirked and waited for one of the staff members to get the total for the table just long enough to make sure the losers didn't try and elphant, before grabbing Adrien and sitting at the bar. When the bartender got to them and asked for their order she said, "Well personally what I really want is for those two to shut up." The man behind the bar huffed agreeingly. "But aside from that I'd like a mug of your strongest rum and take it over to the small pink-haired woman on the edge of your bar."

The bartender gave Chloe a once over and gave the same treatment to Adrien, who looked confused and slightly worried. "That'll cost extra."

"Money is of no issue."

"Alright then... no guarantee she'll drink it." He mumbled the last part to himself.

Alix glared at the two sailors, ready to force them to shut up when the bartender returned and set a drink in front of her. "The two blondes down there bought you a drink." He explained to her annoyed glare. Alix followed his thumb and saw Chloe smirking as she sipped her drink and Adrien trying, and failing, to talk her out of something.

"Well, it would be rude to refuse a gift," Alix smirked and downed the mug, already figuring that whatever Chloe wanted her to do could wait until after she'd had a few words with the screaming duo.

* * *

The next morning found Alix holding her head in pain as she emptied her stomach into the sea, as the other captains were all in similar states of distress, that left Kagami as the only one capable of tending to any of them. Which she did grudgingly, wishing she could have a hangover and leave the rest of them to suffer.

When the last of her supper left her, Alix looked up blearily, "What happened?"

Kagami actually laughed as she made Marinette drink some water, "I'm pretty sure you did."

Much later in the day, after everyone was feeling much better and after Marinette had scolded Chloe on using Alix's low tolerance for alcohol for evil, the seven captains began discussing when they would leave.

Alix was all in favor of leaving that night, to avoid the embarrassment of starting such a big fight, but this was voted down when the others voiced their desire to do a little 'shopping', and it was decided that they would leave early the next morning. "You sure you don't want to come?" Kim asked as he finished tying his mask into place.

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself." he shrugged and left her alone in the growing darkness.

* * *

As Alix set herself up for a cool night on deck, content to let the stars and the gentle rocking of Duusuu lull her to sleep, she was interrupted by a voice shouting, "Hey! Is anyone up there?" With a sigh, Alix sat up and went to go see who was making such a racket.

Looking over the brim Alix saw a young boy, maybe thirteen, shouting up at her. "Who or what are you and what do you want." She deadpanned, looking him over once.

"My name is August and I'm here to speak to the captain of this ship!"

"And how do you know you aren't speaking with her?"

"Because the captain has to be _**old**_ , duh." The kid had guts, Alix would give him that.

"Well, I'm older than you, so who's to say I'm not?"

"You're just a kid! If you were old you'd be older than my mom."

"Is there a reason you came here trying to wake the dead, or did you just want to insult a sea captain?"

"I want to join your crew!"

Well, Alix certainly wasn't expecting _that_. "Aren't you a little **young** to be wanting to join a crew?" she asked, feeling just a little bit like a hypocrite.

"Momma says that some ships take on kids even younger than me!"

"Yes. _Pirate ships._ " Alix didn't know why, but she felt like she had to at least try and steer him away. "Besides, even if I was looking for more crew, what could you bring that a more experienced adult couldn't?"

"I'm hoping to find a pirate ship!" August shouted. He started to continue but Alix quickly shushed him.

"Get up here before you bring the whole navy down on me!" She hissed.

When they were standing face to face Alix sighed and waved her hand for him to continue. "I want to find a pirate ship so I can meet Paon!"

"And why would you want to do that?"

"They were like a bedtime legend! They could do anything! And, if I can meet Paon, they might even introduce me to the others! I could be a pirate!" August seemed really excited by the whole idea, and Alix almost hated the idea of being the one to bring the harsh reality to him.

"Kid, it's not that easy. Being a pirate is a lot of work, and really dangerous. What would your mom say?" Alix asked, hoping that by bringing up the kid's mom, it would shock him into thinking for a second.

But she would be disappointed, "My mom is the one who sent me here! She worked with a trading company last year and actually _met_ Paon when her ship was boarded by them!"

"Last year?" Alix asked confused.

"Yep! It was awesome!"

"Huh."

"Is something wrong?" August asked, worried he had said something that would end this little interview.

"No no. Just something I'll have to talk about with the others."

"HA!" August shouted, making Alix jump, "You admit that you aren't the captain!"

"I'm the captain, but I work with other ships and this is something we'll need to talk about."

The kid gasped excitedly and started jumping around spouting theories, getting wilder and wilder. Alix sighed, "You're not going to leave unless I say you can join are you?"

"Nope!"

"Fine."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. Go pack your stuff, tell your mother goodbye and be back here before the moon sets or I leave without you."

"Yes, ma'am!" August saluted and jumped over the edge in his haste, and despite herself, Alix smiled. He had potential. He was an overeager pain in her neck already... but he had potential.

* * *

That certainly took a turn!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See you next year!


	22. Vanisher

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm exhausted! Tuesday tried to kill me, and now it's 2020!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Vanisher made certain that the only people still aboard _Akuma_ were the pirates who manned her. Whispering soft commands to the men was easy, as they were still frightened enough of her that all other orders were disregarded. Stepping off the ship herself, Vanisher made certain that _Akuma_ was well on its way before she turned to the villagers she had lived with for over half a decade. Tentatively, Caline Bustier stepped forward, insistent on getting answers, before anyone could stop her.

"Who are you?" Caline asked.

The younger woman pulled out a bit of parchment and a piece of charcoal and quickly wrote, 'Vanisher.'

While most of the townspeople, who hadn't spent their lives fishing, didn't know the name, one of the older sailors recognized it and stepped forward, "Why did you help us?"

'Because you asked me too.'

"Will you be staying?"

'No.'

"What if the pirates come back!?" Lynda shrieked hysterically.

Vanisher rolled her eyes. 'I hold more fear in their hearts than gold holds their greed. They will not return.'

A, slightly more vocal, friend of Lynda's spoke, "But why? Who are you to them?"

This time Vanisher took much longer in writing her answer, ' _As any decent sailor will tell you, I was once part of an infamous crew of pirates. We could strike fear into even the most hardened of sea rats and my captain and her first mates were not to be trifled with, even by association. My being here even briefly has put your town in a safety bubble of sorts. It won't last forever, but you shouldn't be bothered for a few years_.'

Just as Lynda's friend prepared to demand answers for what exactly _that_ meant, Caline broke in, "Thank you for saving us. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come by." She paused for a moment, "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to the young woman that was staying in my house would you?"

Vanisher hesitated, almost as if she regretted what she was about to write even as she put it to parchment before folding it, handing it to Caline and speaking the only words that sleepy town would ever hear from Vanisher, "That girl is dead." Even as she spoke, Vanisher was walking away from the town and hoping no one would notice that she was heading in the direction of Ms. Bustier's house.

* * *

Sorry for the short one, but I really wanted to be able to write this for the new year!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe new year.

Comment what you thought, and what your new year's resolution is!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	23. Copy Cats

Muwahahahahahahahaha! I have written this chapter before the deadline! I feel oddly proud of my self...

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

After making sure that August wouldn't accidentally hurt himself if she left him alone for too long, Alix started wandering around the port, looking for signs of her friends. As she searched, Alix thought.

It just wasn't possible for the kid's mother to have met Paon within the six years, definitely not last year. And aside from former Paon's traveling the high seas as ghosts, there was really only one option... Alix had a copy cat. But if someone was trying to mooch off a well-known, not to mention infamous, pirate title, why not go for a captain?

Then Alix had a disturbing thought that filled her veins with ice. _'What if Paon's not the only one with a copy cat?'_

It wasn't unusual for weaker, meaner, stupider, or weaker pirates to try and use another's title for themselves. They didn't usually last long though, because a navy from somewhere or other would catch the fakers rather quickly, and if the navy didn't get them and the pirate they were impersonating heard about it... the navy would be the kinder option.

But if there were enough of them and the legitimate pirates were missing, but still the stuff of legends, and the copy cats were smart enough to evade navies... Alix knew from a logical standpoint that it was ridiculous, but her gut kept telling her she was on to something.

She was only pulled out of her troubled musings when an arm literally started pulling her back in the direction of the ships.

"SORRY!" Adrien yelled as he pulled her along with one hand and held his loot in the other. As Adrien continued to apologize profusely, Alix shrugged her troubles away for another time and started running in step with the newer pirate. When he tried to adjust the bags and not fall behind to be captured by the growing mob, Alix had to laugh.

"Steal all that yourself or are you the pack mule?"

"I'll have you know - Woah! - that I got this myself!" Adrien shot back, still on uneven footing.

"Oooooooooooh! Forgive my transgressions! Oh, Mighty Pirate Captain Chat Noir!"

"What are you even doing here? I thought you were staying on Duusuu?" Adrien questioned, trying to change the subject.

"Things change." Alix shrugged.

The shorter pirate laughed. Marinette, who was in the lead, slowed down ever so slightly and yelled at the two of them, "Hey you two! Less talking! More running!"

"Aye aye captain!" Alix affirmed with a laugh.

* * *

So. I have some good news! Within the next ten-ish chapters there will be a wedding scene!

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	24. Theories

I MADE IT! THERE'S STILL TIME!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

The next month passed swiftly as each ship in the Miraculous Fleet somehow managed to gain an extra crew member or two.

Kim picked up a mother and son by the names, Margarette and Matthew Michelle, after unintentionally saving them from capsizing. And now, more often than not, everyone took dinner on Nooroo.

Nino practically adopted a boy by the name of Chris after getting thrown into a port side jail for public drunkenness and meeting the child.

Alya and Chloe met their crew members at the same time, Aurora and Mireille respectively when a sudden storm nearly sunk the two.

Marinette had been approached by a headstrong young woman by the name of Odine, who nearly begged to be taken on board.

During this time, Alix had been keeping an ear out for tales of Paon, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, Nabi, or Jade Turtle. There was a disturbing amount of them. Alix kept trying to think of ways to bring up the copycats to the others, but the time never felt right. Until a month after she had taken August on board, the words sang to her. It was time to confront this monster.

The meeting was held in Alix's quarters because she had been the one to call it. It was a weird feeling for her to be in charge of a meeting, usually, she let the others start it off. But this was anything but usual.

"Alright Alix, what's the big problem?" Marinette asked concerned.

"I've been noticing it for a little while now, but I couldn't think of a way to bring it up without sounding paranoid."

Kim interrupted before she could get too far, "We're not going to think you're paranoid."

Chloe scoffed, " _Some of us_ won't think you're paranoid. I make no promises."

"Shut up!"

"Can we focus, I think Alix is really trying to tell us something." Alix gave Adrien a grateful nod and smiled.

"Thanks newbie!" Alix's smile started tugging itself down as she remembered why she was there, "I think we've got copycats."

The reactions were instantaneous.

"WHAT?!"

"WHO WOULD DARE TRY AND COPY ME!"

"Are you sure?"

"Why haven't you brought this up sooner!?"

"HEY! DON'T BLAME ALIX FOR THIS! SHE BROUGHT IT UP AND THAT'S THAT!"

"What's the big deal about copycats?"

Adrien's question brought everyone up short and the other six captains stared at him for a good minute before Marinette explained, "Copycats can really damage a pirates reputation, make them seem weaker than they really are, and that can get a lot of people killed. Not to mention it's just downright insulting to have someone steal your title and act like they deserve the respect and fear that comes with it!" Marinette took a deep breath to calm herself down, before gesturing for Nino to take over.

"Dude, think of it like this: your old man is a great fashion designer, everyone loves his work and respects him for it. He decides to take it easy for a while, and when he comes back he hears that someone's been selling cheap garbage clothes as originals from him. What would happen?"

Adrien was silent for a moment as he thought it through, then his face lit up in righteous fury, "HOW DARE THEY!"

"Now he gets it!"

Everyone started laughing good-naturedly. Alix coughed to get everyone's attention again, "I should probably clarify. I think everyone except Ladybug and Chat Noir have copycats."

"Why?"

"Well, that's one of the reasons I didn't bring it up sooner. But I've got a couple theories. Chat Noir was a new guy when we vanished, and no one had really seen him work, so no reason to impersonate him. And Ladybug, well, would you want to come across one of Ladybug's many allies or even a former crew member, only for them to discover you've been impersonating them?"

"True."

"I wouldn't wanna be near that shipwreck!"

"Of course, it's going to be almost as bad when we get our hands on our own copycats!" Alya snarled. The others growled in agreement.

"Alix, you've obviously been keeping an ear out, any idea where they might be based?" Kim asked.

Adrien interrupted before she could answer, "Wait. I thought pirates didn't have stuff like that."

Alix nodded, "Regular pirates don't, but copycats tend to be more cowardly than normal pirates, so they tend to have a place to store their stolen goods." Then she answered Kim's question, "From what I could figure out, it sounds like they're mostly sticking to the outskirts of the Achu kingdom." Then she rolled her eyes, "A ridiculously stupid place since the Achu navy catches more pirates than almost anyone else."

Alya tapped her chin in thought, "Hey, isn't Mylene and Ivan's wedding going to be in Achu?"

Chloe nodded, "Yeah." then she smirked, "Do you think five copycats captured would be a good wedding gift?"

"Don't you mean five copycats _**catptured**_?" Adrien couldn't resist.

"I _**will**_ dig out your internal organs with a rusty spoon and not feel an ounce of regret." Chloe deadpanned.

* * *

I promise stuff is going to happen! *mumbles* just not yet...

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	25. Bandits

I'm back! Muhahahahahhahahahahaha! So I have some news! If everything goes as I plan there is only about seven chapters left.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ten people in varying states of grunginess, sat around a table pouring over a map of a very familiar castle...

"If we strike from here," one of them said motioning towards the western part of the castle, "we can back them up towards the sea and distract the navy with the decoys giving them no way to escape!"

One of the only women sighed, "That's all very well and good if we can distract them!" She stood up and glared, "Need I remind you that even us impersonating _literal_ legends hasn't gotten the King to put an actual force out to even try and find us. So what makes you think that he'd send. The. Entire. Navy. Against us!"

To rebut her one of the other men spoke up, "Kali, you have voiced your concerns in the past. But I can assure you that this will be different."

"How."

"Because the five of you and your crews will be staging a full out attack on the navy."

Kali looked at the man for a second before responding, "You really think that me and my crew are suicidal enough to agree to that? Because if so, you're more imbecilic than I thought." She pushed herself away from the table, "I initially agreed to this because you said there would be more loot than an entire fleet could carry and the respect of having taken down a major naval power. So far, all I've received is the degradation of having to take on another's title, forfeiting my own I should add, twice as many people trying to blow holes in my ship, and No. Money." Kali took a deep breath, "So I'm out." Then she looked at the other four captains still at the table, "And if you four were smart, you would be too."

Without looking back, Kali left. Leaving a butterfly styled mask behind. Slowly another woman in the room stood up and looked the other men in the room in the eye and said, "Kali's right. My crew's lives are not worth this risk." She laid her own peacock styled mask on the table and turned to the three remaining captains, "May wind always fill your sails and the waves see you smoothly to your destination."

"And may fortune and glory always dog your heels." The four murmured in reply, but before she could leave one of the bandits blocked her path.

"I apologize. It seems you bilge rats are under the assumption you can just jump ship whenever you feel like it." The bandit pulled out a dagger and stuck it dangerously close to her gut, "Now I don't care who you think you are Gabrielle, go sit down before we make your oh so precious crew to clean your guts off the floor."

Glaring at the man she did as she was told and the meeting continued in a much different tone than it had started. Where before the bandits and pirates talked openly and voiced their opinions, now the pirates were silenced and the bandits no longer even pretended to want the input of their seafaring counterparts.

Before long the plan was finalized and the four pirate captains were dismissed. As she was leaving she gave the bandits one finale warning, "You have made dangerous enemies this day. Don't be surprised when the sea comes to collect." The ignored her and no one saw her take Kali's mask.

* * *

This turned out differently than I thought it would.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	26. An Arrival and a Reunion

Six chapters left!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Despite their promise to take care of the increasing bandit activity, Rose, Nataniel, and Max were swamped with duties that seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

First, Master Demarcus suddenly needed Nathaniel to go barter with a traveling caravan for the good paints that only that particular caravan sold. Marc couldn't do it because he was busy helping Master Demarcus mix new paints to finish Ali's portrait, and the old man never missed out on an opportunity to berate Nathaniel. Fortunately for the tomato child, after three days of heavy bargaining he had managed to see the paints, then another two days for haggling over amounts, and finally a day and a half acting like he hadn't even wanted _those_ paints to begin with to get a decent price on them, Nathaniel had managed to get the elusive paints, and the grudging respect of the seller. Then it was off on some other ridiculously hard task.

The other advisors were suddenly relying on Max a lot more, constantly coming to him to ensure that their figures were right and wouldn't accidentally send the kingdom into bankruptcy or war. At first, Max had easily helped them, as it was just a matter of double-checking and correcting mistakes. Then it became a matter of them trying to foist their duties off onto Max. It hadn't taken long for Max to take up old habits from sailing to escape the official advisors so that he could get the minimal work he needed to be done. Even going so far as to hide in the trees.

Rose found herself being accosted by ladies of the court, who had suddenly decided to take her under their wings before proceeding to dress her up in the latest fashions. When it first started she was happy that they were including her and because it gave her people to talk to, Rose had always been a social person after all. But then they started commenting on how plain her everyday wear was, which started up arguments between the different ladies and Rose started actively avoiding the sound of higher voices when she walked around the palace.

All in all the three of them were being run ragged in ways they hadn't been in years (or ever), and they just never had time to deal with the bandits.

Before they had even realized, Mylene and Ivan were arriving for the wedding preparations. Not long after the happy couple Ella, Etta, the woman who had basically adopted them (Nora), Manon, Nadja, Sabrina, and Juleka all showed up and the resulting reunion lasted for two days straight (the resulting hangovers lasted another two days).

No one was really surprised ay Tom and Sabine being late. They lived the furthest away and after the disappearance of their children, not much could make them leave. a wedding being one of those exceptions.

As the band of ex-pirates prepared for the wedding, time seemed to slip by, until it three days before the wedding and all the little details were coming into place.

Around noon, as King Ali was insisting they took a break for lunch, a guard ran in frantically and said, "Your Majesty! There is a hostile force bearing down on the castle from the sea!"

"How many ships?"

"Four at the very least, with more closing in."

Before Ali could issue orders, another guard ran in, "Your Majesty! There appears to be a small army marching down on us from the east!"

All traces of humor were gone from the eleven former pirates and King as the monarch delivered orders in quick bursts. By the time the thirteen of them reached the gates they were in full pirate mode and planning different ways to divert the incoming warships when the King's personal guard showed up and began escorting him to a safe place.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

"We apologize Your Majesty. But seven intruders have been spotted in the castle. With these simultaneous attacks, we believe them to be assassins. You need to get to a safe place."

Before anyone could respond an unexpected but not unwelcome voice rung out, " How _catastrophic_ for you! This certainly isn't an _amewzing_ development! _Purrhaps_ we should just talk it out?"

"AAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Queen Bee! Don't kill him!"

As they watched Nabi chase Queen Bee who was chasing Chat Noir, Jade Turtle spoke up from the sidelines, "Don't worry. _Shell_ chill soon enough."

The easy smile and laid back attitude brought more than one pirate to tears and Ella and Etta burst into tears when Rena Rouge showed up next to him and asked looked at the others, "So, who wants to take out some trash?"

* * *

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	27. Taking Out the Trash

10:30 still counts as Wednesday right?

Monster chapter! I'm actually really happy about this!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe was stopped from chasing and/or killing Adrien when she was tackled by a blur of orange. Sabrina wasn't crying. No there would be time for tears later, she just really need confirmation that Chloe was alive. Sabrina wasn't the only one. After a beat, all seven captains were being smothered in hugs, as King Ali, Nora, and the guards watched stunned.

"Your Majesty, do we need to arrest them?" One guard asked.

"Of course not!"

Alya somehow managed to break free of the hug fest when she caught sight of Nora. "We aren't normally like this. It's just been... a really long time."

Before Nora could respond Marinette also managed to free herself and whistled loudly, "We can catch up later. Right now we have a bigger issue. Ali has bandits marching to storm his home and we have some copy cats to greet."

The pile of pirates quickly rearranged themselves and stood waiting for their captains' orders. Ali also spoke up at that point, "Captain Ladybug is correct. How do you propose we handle this situation?"

"Ali, keep all of your navy where it is and focus on the land attack. We'll handle the ships."

One of the guards scoffed.

"Do you have a problem with this plan?"

"Aside from the fact that 'Tikki' is only one ship? Or that we are trusting pirates not to betray us and stab us in the back the moment they can get any number of treasures of His Majesty's personal collection? No not at all."

King Ali moved to berate the guard but Adrien beat him to it, "If you have such a problem with working with pirates you are welcome to leave. King Ali has no such qualms and neither do any of your comrades. So unless you can think of an _actual_ reason then please shut up."

Marinette then added, "And who said we were only using one ship?"

 _That_ got everyone's attention, "You found them?!"

"Of course. And a couple of others."

Nora interrupted the plan making, "That's good for all of you, but Ella and Etta are staying here with me."

Alya's smile fell in an instant, "And who are you to make that decision for them?"

"Their caretaker. Who are you to say otherwise?"

"I'm their older sister."

Before Alya could unleash Rena Rouge on the older woman Chloe stepped in, "Why not come with us then?"

"What?"

"There are seven ships and right now two of them would be slightly undermanned. If you come with us then only one will be."

Nora sneered, "Like I would work with pirates."

"You took care of my sisters. They're both wanted pirates. You won't be doing anything you haven't already."

"Fine."

"You can have seven ready ships then." A new voice said.

Juleka whipped around, "Luka?"

"Hey."

Kim gave him an appraising look, "You want to help?"

"Always."

"Alrighty."

Ladybug smiled and returned her attention to the King. "We'll be on our way now. See you on the other side!" With that parting comment, she headed back the way she had come, and not long after so did everyone else.

* * *

Back at the ships, Chris paced nervously in front of Wyazz. The other seven watched him as he valiantly tried to wear a hole in the dock, "What if they don't like us and insist we can't help? What if they try and fight us?! What if the captains' kick us off?"

Finally, Margarette could take it no more and walked over to the young man, "Chris take a breath. Captain Jade Turtle would never just abandon you. We've all seen the way he treats you. By now I'm fairly sure he sees you as a brother."

Chris took a deep breath and smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Michelle."

"Anytime."

By the time the war party of twenty showed up, Odine was talking to Kagami about swimming techniques, the Michelle's were on Nooroo making sure everything was just right, August was sleeping, Chris was still pacing, and Aurora and Mireille were lying in the meager sunlight trying to relax. When they all heard the telltale sound of multiple feet on wood the eight of them stood in front of their respective ships. Except for August, he was still waking up when Alix threw something at him.

Captain Ladybug stood in the middle of them all and gave out placements. "Okay, there's twenty-eight of us so that's four on each ship. Luka and Nora the two of you will be with Kagami and Captain Chat Noir on Plagg. Juleka, Ivan, you two will be with August and Captain Paon on Duusuu, sorry Ivan. Mylene, you're on Nooroo with Margarette, Matthew, and Captain Nabi. Twins, you two are working with Captain Rena Rouge and Aurora on Trixx. Sabrina, Rose, you're on Pollen with Mireille and Captain Queen Bee. Max, Nathaniel the two of you are on Wyazz with Chris and Captain Jade Turtle. Nadja and Manon you're with me and Odine on Tikki."

The thirteen or so crew members all separated to their designated ships, though, for a moment, Ladybug was worried that Nora would raise a fuss, luckily she just grumbled and moved towards the darkest ship.

Before they untethered from the dock Manon hugged Ladybug one more time, "I'm really glad you're back!"

Ladybug chuckled, "Me too. Now I do believe you and your mother need to get ready."

Manon ran off and Nadja sent Ladybug a smile. Odine was putting the finishing touches on her outfit, "Are you sure this is okay?"

Ladybug tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Calling myself Syren when Captain Noir has an actual siren on his ship?"

"Odine, if she has a problem with what you call yourself then Kagami will tell you."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

Odine smiled and fit her mask over her eyes completing her transformation into Syren. "Then let's do this!"

* * *

Soon all seven ships were underway and heading to intercept the four copycats.

Up close and personal it was obvious who the four were copying and it made Ladybug's blood boil to see her family's ships be so callously insulted. Ladybug had Puppeteer make sure the others would reach the imposters first. When the younger girl questioned it, the captain answered, "It is their names being tarnished, they deserve to draw first blood."

The battle was quick and merciless, the four imposters were not prepared to fight the actual people they so claimed to be.

"Where should we put them?" Nabi sneered at the copycats.

"Tikki has enough room to hold them until we can decide what to do with them." Ladybug answered.

"You aren't going to turn us over to the royal navy?" The pirate imitating Rena Rouge asked almost fearfully.

His counterpart laughed, "You have the gall to take our names and you think you'll get away with just a slap on the wrist from a king? No. You four and your crews are going to answer personally to us."

Paon, who until now had just sat in the background glaring at the fake peacock, spoke up, "What I want to know is why they decided to partner up with bandits."

"We didn't want to!"

Seven furious captains turned their attention to the fake turtle, "Explain."

The man gulped, "O-one of the um the bandits well the bandits in charge, they were well they uh they had um I-I don't really know, they had something that uh that gave them leverage against us or well at least they uh they did for me."

"What kind of leverage?"

"I uh I um I... information that could uh could destroy a person." As the fake turtle stammered his way through his explanation something started to click for Ladybug.

"That meddling little bastard!" she muttered, "Syren, Puppeteer, get them all below decks. Then get ready to head back inland." Ladybug ordered in a louder voice.

"Okay what's going on?"

"These bandits have clearly had an interaction with Charter."

Five faces sneered and Adrien looked confused, "Whose Charter?"

Queen Bee sighed, "A jerk that likes to mess with people's heads. He sells stories for stories."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Jade Turtle shivered, "You wouldn't say that if you knew how he took the stories. Making a deal with him is almost worse than making a deal with the devil."

Rena Rouge looked at Ladybug, "You think he had a hand in this?"

"I'd bet Tikki on it."

"Then we'd better get our ships ready too."

"Nabi, Paon, make sure you tell Horrificator and Stone Heart that we're sorry about ruining their wedding."

"Of course."

* * *

By the time the seven ships reached the battleground King Ali and his troops had defeated the very small army. Ladybug leaped over the edge of Tikki before they had even stopped.

"Ladybug! You are just in time!"

"I need to see the leaders of this little uprising."

Ali was confused but gave her directions, "Thanks."

Ladybug marched towards the small tent that held the five people responsible. She passed her eyes over all of them until she saw the man that was glaring at nothing. The pirate captain hauled him up and stared into his eyes.

His eyes weren't glazed as if he was unaware, in fact, they were almost too bright as if they held some hidden secret they did not wish to know. Ladybug knew he had spoken with Charter. She personally dragged him back to the castle, where the captain promptly dropped him when she saw a man, older than she remembered but still unforgettable, standing in the courtyard.

* * *

I really hope you all know who this is.

Comment what you thought!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya next time!


	28. Threats

Sorry about last week! I really didn't have much motivation, but I am back!

I.O.N

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Previously: She personally dragged him back to the castle, where the captain promptly dropped him when she saw a man, older than she remembered but still unforgettable, standing in the courtyard_.

* * *

Now:

The man glared at Ladybug, who was too shocked to notice. Before the man could speak, the rest of the pirates showed up and the more seasoned pirates similarly froze. Once they were all assembled the man slowly stalked towards the group. "Ladybug! And her motley crew of rats! What a surprise!" he said sarcastically.

"What do you want Dylan." Alix nearly spat, the shock already wearing off, as she readied to stab the man.

"You **pirates** know exactly what I want."

"It's been nearly eight years! Get over yourself!" Queen Bee sneered. "Clearly if 'your' Marinette wanted you back, she would have gone back!"

"YOU SHUT UP!" He roared. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF OUR LOVE!"

"If the only reason you're here is to insult us and _try_ to intimidate us, then can you leave. We've got better things to do." Jade Turtle said, not intimidated in the slightest.

Dylan took a moment to compose himself before smirking. "Actually I come with news. See a little birdie once told me of this little island harbor that you filthy sea rats seem to frequent." The pirates grew stiller and angrier the more he talked, "Imagine my surprise when I find it! And all those little people just sitting there! Of course, I have them now, and I see no reason they should not be returned to their homes in the same state they were removed from them. _If_ you give me exactly what I want."

"And if we don't?" Kim growled.

Dylan shrugged, "Well, what's one or two shop keepers in the grand scheme of things?"

Every experienced pirate in the courtyard **glared** at Dylan, fully prepared to end him should Ladybug give the word. Yet she stayed their weapons and with ice in her voice spoke, "What are your demands."

"Obviously I want my Marinette returned to me. All your stolen goods. And one more thing..." Dylan listed off his demands with the confidence of a man who clearly thought he had won, "I want Ladybug, Paon, and Rena Rouge's complete and utter surrender. Give me all of those and I will happily release the peasants." Dylan walked through the gates before turning around and saying, "You have until midnight tonight to meet my demands or I kill all of them!"

Then he was gone.

As the gate doors swung shut with an ominous thud Paon roared, "I'M GONNA KILL THAT BASTARD!"

* * *

Two hours later found every member of the seven ships aboard Tikki preparing for an all-out war. Guns were cleaned and checked, cannonballs were weighed, swords were sharpened. Though the newer members knew that only the original crew of Tikki would be going on this mission.

The first hour had been spent arguing over this decision until Marinette snapped and said they were wasting time at which point all seven captains ordered the newer crew to stay behind. It was still a sore point for the ten, but they could see how it was a personal matter for the others.

Time both flew by and crawled by at snail's pace until it was an hour to midnight. Tikki sailed out of the harbor with her crew ready for a fight.

* * *

With the completion of this chapter, I can say that we are still on track for a finale in four chapters!

Comment what you thought!

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See ya next time!


	29. Confrontation

TIS NOT MIDNIGHT YET! TIS STILL THURSDAY!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Well, you're punctual if nothing else." Dylan sneered when they were within speaking distance.

"We're here aren't we?"

"Yes. It's good to know you filth know when to throw in the towel."

"Just give us the townspeople." Queen Bee shouted.

"Ah ah ah. My demands first."

Stone Heart stepped forward first, "Let us see that the people are alive."

Dylan turned to one of his crew and said, "Bring up the loud one." The crewman gulped but nodded, before getting three others to help him. Ten minutes later they marched out a very _pissed off_ Sabine. Every crew member around her gave her as wide a berth as possible, they had learned the hard way that even chained, the small woman was not to be taken lightly. Dylan, however, disregarded this and held his sword to her throat. "You've seen they're alive! For now." He threatened, "Now give me what I want. Or hers will be the first head to roll!"

The glares of the pirates, which had already been intense, doubled in fury and hatred. If looks could kill, Dylan would be a smoking crater. But at a subtle gesture from Chloe got them back on track, even as she struggled not to dash over and destroy the person threatening her mother. They loaded Marinette, wearing a borrowed trench coat from one of King Ali's guards, with the 'stolen treasure' and sent the three girls over.

"Where is Ladybug!" Dylan demanded enraged.

The pirates didn't answer and instead started piling into the other ship with a vengeance, weapons drawn. Sabine elbowed Dylan in the stomach and disarmed him while he was doubled over in pain. Fights broke out all over the ship and somehow managed to even spill back over onto Tikki. While the enemy sailors were distracted Gamer and Evillustrator snuck below to rescue their friends and family.

By the time the pair got back up with the townspeople, most of Dylan's paid crew were down for the count, but Dylan himself was putting up a bigger fight than they expected and actually looked like he might take down Ladybug when Stone Heart rose up from behind the man and clubbed him over the head dropping him instantly.

Cheers went up as the townspeople celebrated not being hostages and the pirates celebrated finally being done with the pompous noble known as Dylan. The seven captains especially were having a mini family reunion as Tom and Sabine hugged their children and Adrien consoled his crying father. Laughter and joy flooded the deck of Tikki.

Dylan took their moment of celebration to shoot up from where everyone thought he had collapsed and made a rush for the nearest pirate. Alix let out a startled scream as she was tackled over the edge of Tikki and into the still churning waters below. As she struggled against Dylan and the water trying to drown them both, something hit the back of her head and suddenly Alix's vision started going dark. Before completely losing consciousness, Alix felt a burning pain in her right hand, and then she felt no more.

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	30. Loss

Do you know how crazy this chapter is going to be?! Like at all?! I have had this in my head for the past SEVENTEEN CHAPTERS! And I still couldn't write it like I wanted!

ANYWAYS!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Kim instantly dove into the water after Alix, only to drag an unconscious body back covered in blood.

Ivan and Nino managed to haul them both up back onto Tikki as Kim steadfastly refused to let go of Alix's limp body.

It was only when Tom pulled his son into a fierce hug that the young man broke out sobbing, "She's gonna be alright, right Dad?" Tom could only hug him tighter. Sabine was at Alix's side doing her best to staunch the bleeding from the younger girl's head and whispering useless platitudes to Alix.

"Alya go find Mendeleiev," Sabine ordered. "She can help." Alya nodded mutely and rushed off, guiltily happy to get away from the nightmare scene. The other four captains couldn't help but feel helpless.

Adrien couldn't tear his eyes away from how still the usually vibrant Alix was, and Gabriel had to physically move him away.

Chloe had sunk to the ground, eyes glassy as she watched everything happen around her.

Nino was staring at the blood on his hands. He had been the one to haul most of Alix up in the first place and now his hands were coated in his sister's blood.

Marinette was hugging herself shaking and quietly crying, trying to keep herself together in case they needed her.

The rest of the crew was giving the group space, as Mylene had had the forethought of ushering Ella, Etta, and Manon away from the scene.

Alya came rushing back with an older woman in a dirty white overcoat and cracked glasses close behind. "We need to get her below deck," Mendeleiev said without preamble. Marinette stepped up, the others not far behind her, and carried Alix to Tikki's medical room, where Mendeleiev immediately got to work.

She cleaned and stitched the gash on the back of Alix's head, before taking a look at the rest of her for any other clear signs of distress. "Oh my..." Mendeleiev sighed.

"What? What's wrong?" Chloe demanded.

The doctor didn't say anything, just adjusted the unconscious girl until the family could see Alix's mangled right hand. Horror found the faces of everyone in the room. Quietly Mendeleiev told them the news, "Something must have happened between the time that bastard pulled her under and Kim pulled her out. But as it is now, there is no way for Alix to keep her hand and live." Taking a quiet breath Mendeleiev continued, "It is also possible that she may not wake up from this due to her head wound and even if she does, there is the very real possibility of brain damage." Chloe looked like she was about to be sick. Mendeleiev sighed and said, "I'll leave you alone to think over your options." before leaving the family in silence.

Then Sabine said, "Take the hand." It was a quiet command but powerful nonetheless. Mendeleiev looked for anyone to disagree but all she found was resignation. "Please, Madaline. If it will increase my daughter's chance at living... then take the hand." Sabine reached out.

"Everyone get out. None of you should see this."

* * *

Back at King Ali's castle, Duusuu felt something happen to Alix. There was nothing she could do as a ship, so Duusuu used up one of her final wishes to become human for the remainder of the night so that she could help her captain. The rest of the crew were sleeping in the castle as per the King's request so Duusuu found it easy to sneak aboard Nooroo and convince him to sail to where Tikki was housing their captains.

Nooroo knew where he was going and that gave Duusuu plenty of time to worry and fret about what had happened to her captain. When they finally arrived next to Tikki, Duusuu had just about given in to the bubbling panic she felt. Before she jumped onto the other ship, Nooroo sent Duusuu a wave of reassurance. "Thank you for that, Darling," Duusuu said patting the railing, "You always know how to make me feel better." Then she jumped across to Tikki.

Taking a deep breath the peacock whispered to the listening ship, "Where is she?" Before following the wave of concern Tikki was sending towards the medical room.

When Duusuu saw the unconscious form of Alix she nearly burst into tears. Tears did slide, unwelcome, down her face when she saw the extent of the damage, "Oh, my poor Darling! We were going to have so many adventures together!" The peafowl themed woman allowed herself five minutes to mourn and grieve all that had been lost before pressing a kiss to her captain's forehead and whispering as she left, "Wake up soon Alix."

When Alix finally regained consciousness two days later, it was to the pounding of her head, the sound of hushed conversations and a rather concerning voice in her mind screaming at her that something was wrong. She must have groaned or made some noise because suddenly her family was around her. Kim tried to ask her something, but even though he was crouching right in front of her, Alix could barely hear what he was saying.

Alix could see the worry and panic start to well up in his eyes, and she immediately went to comfort him, but the moment she raised her right hand, what was supposed to be her hand, all she saw was a bandaged stump. Horror welled up in her stomach and threatened to make her return any food she'd eaten recently. She clutched the bandaged stump to her chest and tried to fight the tears. For a moment she didn't even remember how it happened.

Then it all came rushing back. The wedding, Dylan threatening Tom and Sabine, the battle, Ivan clubbing Dylan, the relieved smile Kim shot her when they thought it was all over, Dylan rushing her, Dylan tackling her over the edge of his ship, unimaginable pain flaring in her right hand, sharp pain in the back of her head, and then nothing.

Now, Alix didn't fight the tears, she was too shocked. Next thing she realized, Kim was crushing her to his chest in the tightest hug he'd ever given. But she hardly felt it. ' _What am I going to do now? I can't be a Captain with no hearing! What changed? Why didn't I see this coming?_ '

Their family waited for them and when Kim finally released Alix, who for the most part had slipped into a dazed calm, it was to the loving arms of Tom and Sabine, the parents in everything save blood. It was only when Sabine held her daughter when Kim and their siblings surrounded her when Tom encompassed all of them, only then did Alix allow herself to truly breakdown. Sobs that she could barely hear echoing around like a tidal wave.

* * *

SO! That happened.

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	31. Struggle

The chapter title is also my opinion of this chapter. I've finally written it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. Not to mention it took forever to actually think of what I wanted to write for this chapter.

Anyways! I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Alix screamed as she slammed her fist into the wall and tried to hold back her frustrated tears. Items were scattered disastrously around the room from her previous bout of rage. It had been weeks since she was allowed out of bed and she still felt like a useless child. She had had to relearn how to do everything with her left hand and even attempting clockwork was out of the question. The others would never admit to it, but they had been coddling her, showing up every time she started doing something and offering to _help._ If one more person walked through her door and offered to help, Alix was going to hurt something.

She had just been looking for her watch, which had slid under her desk, and she had unconsciously reached for it with her right arm.

Not long after her burst of rage her door was slammed open. "Get up. We need to talk." Kagami was not one to mince her words, or coddle anyone, they had learned shortly after she signed on to Plagg. Even still, Alix had half a mind to refuse just to spite her.

"Why should I?" The smaller girl questioned.

"It wasn't a suggestion." Was all the warning Alix got before she was heaved up with inhuman strength.

"Siren. Right. Forgot about that."

"Good. Now I have been approached by your crew member August no less than seven times asking me to talk to you."

"What do you want me to say Kagami?!" Alix waved her stump around, "I'm useless!"

"You are like this."

Alix snorted, "O _h wh_ at _a co_ mfo _rt yo_ u are."

"In my Wisp my mother is seen as a great leader and warrior. Schools of mermaids and other Wisps avoid our territory because they do not wish to incur my mother's wrath."

"Good for her."

The siren glared exasperated, "My mother is blind Alix. Sirens are very competitive, they will use any weakness in their opponents to gain status and ranking within their Wisps, the weak are left behind to die or survive on their own. Many saw Mother's blindness as her greatest weakness and wished to move the Wisp without her. She fought every siren that wished to write her off and won in spite of her lack of sight." Kagami took a breath and continued, "You are not useless just because you are now disabled. Adapt. And shred the fins of anyone who says you can't win."

"That's a nice story and all, but how exactly am I supposed to 'adapt' to having one less limb than normal?!" Kagami could see that Alix was reaching her limit and knew her time was up.

"If I can adapt to having four limbs, you can adapt to having three. Besides, didn't Tom mention something about getting you a hook?" Kagami left before Alix could answer.

Alix sank into her chair and thought about what the siren had said. Ten minutes later August knocked on her door. The captain waited a good two minutes before sighing and saying, "Come on in August."

"How did you know it was me?" The boy asked wide-eyed.

Despite her slight annoyance with him, Alix couldn't help but smirk at his question as she answered, "I'm the captain of this ship. She tells me everything." Then she leveled August with a look, "Now why don't you tell me about how you've been pestering Kagami."

* * *

I think this story has two maybe three chapters left before I finish it.

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	32. Troubling Thoughts

What's this? Two updates? Two weeks in a row? I know! Surprised me too!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

King Ali sat behind his desk thinking about the events that had transpired over the past few weeks.

First, everyone in the castle had seemingly fallen in love with his three friends overnight, almost to the point of nearly harming the three, and keeping them from doing the job he had asked of them.

Then, mere days before the wedding, pirates and bandits attempted to attack his home. A manic with an unhealthy obsession with the captain Ladybug had broken in and threatened his guests, ultimately ending with one of them losing a hand.

Finally, it appeared that Master Demarcus had spread the rumor that the guests Ali had allowed into his home were vicious pirates out for blood! With how quickly the rumor had been accepted, Ali feared that Demarcus was also behind the rush of attention his friends had been getting at first as well.

A cup being sat in front of him snapped him out of thoughts as he raised his head to find Ladybug standing in front of his desk. "I knocked."

"The door was locked."

"And."

Ali smiled as he shook his head and took a sip of the drink, "And I should have known you'd be able to pick a lock."

"That you should." Ladybug nodded with a smile of her own. Then she settled in one of the side chairs, "So what's rattling around in that kingly head of yours?"

The king sighed, "I really shouldn't be telling you."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "But?"

"But, I believe the man Nathaniel has been studying under is responsible for quite a few nasty rumors surrounding you and your crew members. I've been trying to think of what to do."

"What're the rumors?"

"That you are all pirates who have come to kill everyone in the castle while stealing our riches."

The pirate captain shrugged, "I mean, he's half right." Then she sighed sadly, "Normally I would offer to leave and dock somewhere else, but with Alix still recovering, and everyone getting used to the fact that we're, you know, still alive, I don't think it would be a good idea."

Her comment brought a chuckle from the king, "Yes, you still being alive is quite a shock."

"Oh, hush. Can't you just banish the guy?"

This time Ali raised an eyebrow, "I may be king but I can't just banish people without reason."

"Put him on trial or something."

"For what?"

"Conspiring against the crown."

"WHAT!?"

"You heard me."

"Captain Ladybug I cannot just _accuse_ someone of conspiring against the crown!"

"Hmm, let's talk this out then shall we? Shortly after you assign tasks to three people that are not very well-liked within the castle, who were brought to you _by_ the man in question, those same three people were suddenly swamped by the same ones who would have snubbed them not two days previously, effectively keeping them from doing the assigned task. Then, after you invite a group of people, whom you _personally_ vouch for, he spreads a rumor that they are planning to murder everyone in the castle. Which, effectively, calls into doubt your judgment a ruler, just after an attack on the castle no less. If people are willing to listen to his lies against your guests, what will they be willing to listen to against you? He could use this against you at a council meeting and claim you are unfit to rule." Ladybug said, ticking off each point. "That sounds an awful lot like conspiring against the crown to me. And I would know, I've done it to plenty of other crowns."

"What would he gain from that though?" King Ali sighed, "Demarcus is nowhere in line for the throne. He's just the court painter."

"I'm not going to try and understand his reasoning. All I wanted to point out is that if you so chose, there could be a very real case against him for this."

"I can't just bring him to trial though!"

"There is a second option."

"What would that be?"

"Well, hypothetically, since most of what he's done, that doesn't call your character into question, has been done to harm, or at least hinder, members of my crew. If your guards were to say look the other way for five minutes or so, I could have him on board Tikki and under a pirates trial. Hypothetically speaking."

Ali thought for a moment before finally saying, "...No killing."

Ladybug smirked, "I would never."

* * *

So I keep adding things, and the chapter list keeps growing! I can no longer say how long this story will be!

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	33. A Present

I have no excuses. I finally wrote this and I'm actually kinda happy with it. So there's that.

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

Alix glared at her desk as she let herself become lost in thought. "Well isn't this a sad sight." Charter said as he seemingly appeared from nowhere.

"Come any closer and I'll show you a sad sight." Alix snarled.

Charter sighs, "Temper temper. And after I came all this way to help you."

"Help me? HELP. ME?! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I'M LIKE THIS!"

"Come now, Alix. You know as well as I that what others do with the resources I give them is completely up to them. It's all a fair trade."

"YOU RIP THEIR STORIES FROM THEM! PARTS OF THEMSELVES THEY WILL NEVER GET BACK THANKS TO YOU!" Alix huffs, "All for what?! A quick solution? The _easy_ way out?!"

"I give people an option that wasn't present before. You know this. Tom and Sabine know this. Your adoptive family knows this." Charter paused as if weighing the words he was about to speak before saying, "Your parents knew it too." Alix started throwing things. Charter dodged them. "I can see how this situation would be upsetting to you. That's why I'm here."

"I don't want anything that you're offering. The price isn't worth it."

"It's free of charge. No stories required. No handshake. A gift if you will. To show my remorse."

"The day you show true remorse is the day I start looking for the next captain of Duusuu."

Charter shrugged before pulling out a medium-sized box and placing it on the ground, out of Alix's strike range of course, then turned to leave. "I have lived a very long time making these deals but believe it or not Captain Paon, I do regret the fact that my interference caused this." Then he was gone.

Alix glared at her door for a good minute more before going to look at the box he had left. After poking it with a sword a couple of times, she opened it to see the most beautifully crafted hook she had ever seen. Alix slammed the lid back down on the box.

She breathed in deeply to calm herself. ' _Surely not._ ' she thought. ' _There's no way that he actually made me a hook._ ' Now sufficiently calm Alix reopened the box, to see the exact same hook. ' _Well #%$^._ '

* * *

It's short but I have a plan!

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	34. A Decision

This is awesome! I'm actually updating on schedule!

I.O.N.

Enjoy!

* * *

The seven pirate captains stood around the box containing the 'gift' Charter had given Alix discussing what to do. Well, discussing is a very generous term for the vicious arguing they were actually doing.

"All it boils down to Alix is what you want to do with it," Marinette said finally, after three hours of getting nowhere. "After all, he did leave it with you."

Alix sighed as she passed her hand over the box. "I'm not going to lie, part of me wants to throw this box and the hook into the ocean and never look back. But the clockmaker in me is loathed to destroy such fine craftsmanship."

"I didn't know you were a clockmaker, Alix." Adrien interrupted.

"Yeah." Alix nodded. "Before Kim and I met Sabine and Tom, my family worked under Kim's as the royal clockmakers."

"KIM'S ROYALTY?!"

Marinette distractedly patted Adrien on the arm, "Adrien, sweetie, we'll tell you all about the politics surrounding Kim later after we figure out what to do with the hook."

"Fine."

"Alix which part of you are you listening to more?" Kim asked.

Alix thought for a minute or two before answering, "The clockmaker. The designs etched into the base honestly remind me of some of my father's finest work and I just can't bring myself to get rid of it." Alix chuckled and said, "That and I don't want to be the one that gets us to put on his hit list."

Chloe nodded, "True. Keeping a gift from him would be a lot simpler than fighting whatever he decides to throw at us if we actually managed to offend him."

Everyone but Adrien chuckled. "So I'm confused. _Why_ do you not want to offend this guy? You all seem to hate him yet you don't want to offend him." The confused blond asked.

Nino decided to take pity on his best friend and explain, "Dude, Charter is what most people would call a Dealmaker. See, he offers his connections, abilities, or whatever else you may need. But in return, he takes stories. Something that's important to you. This makes the guy powerful and dangerous."

Alya took up the rest of the explanation, "Creating a deal with him won't necessarily guarantee your success, human nature to mess stuff up and all that, but it does greatly increase your chances. He can be very generous to those he likes, case in point Alix's new hook, but he also likes to test them, and challenge them. If they can overcome his challenge they may raise in his opinion. Likewise, if someone he has made a deal with that he ends up liking, fails or manages to disappoint him... well we don't actually know what happens to them, you just never hear of them again."

Kim finished, "So yeah. We don't like the guy, but he for some reason likes us, and as hellish as his pleasure can be, it's a whole lot better than his ire."

Adrien nodded, "Makes sense... kind of."

Marinette smiled before turning back to Alix, "So how does the hook fit?"

"What makes you think I've even tried it on yet. That would be a very irresponsible thing to do."

Everyone in the room gave her 'the look.'

Alix grinned, "Okay yeah I tried it out. It fits like a fricken' glove, the point is sharp, and it doesn't feel cursed which is a bonus."

The ladybug themed captain nodded, "That's good. If you can, try and get adjusted to it by tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"I was thinking it was time we dealt with the copycats and the artist that's been causing problems for Rose, Max, and Nathaniel."

The other five captains grinned wickedly.

* * *

 **King Ali's Dungeon**

Dylan laid on his cot waiting for whatever sentence the obviously biased king would deliver.

"You are pathetic."

The man groaned, "Can we just skip the insults and get to the part where you help me escape?"

"No."

This got Dylan's attention, "What do you mean 'no'? Why not?"

Charter stared disinterestedly down his nose at him, "You are no longer deserving of my gifts, and more importantly my time. I have given you multiple opportunities to grow into an actual adversary for the seven captains and you have done nothing but disappoint and anger me."

Dylan rushed to the bars and started shouting, "If you want to ruin those pirates so much why don't you just go against them yourself!"

"Do not misconstrue my interest in you. Or my interest in them. They are meant for greatness and for that greatness to blossom, they need worthy opponents. You, however, had their mother at sword point and couldn't even manage to make them falter. You were a means to an end, which you have since outlived." Charter snapped his fingers. "And I refuse to keep annoyances around."

Charter bent down and picked up a small muddied green orb, before leaving the empty dungeon.

* * *

No, I will not explain what the heck this chapter is, mostly because I myself have no idea what the heck this chapter is.

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